


Pride and Polyjuice Potion

by skjcartwork



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Pride and Prejudice Fusion, Ballroom Dancing, Classics, Dancing, Death, Drug Use, Enemies to Lovers, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Hogwarts, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Magic, References to Jane Austen, Slow Burn, Yule Ball (Harry Potter)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:34:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 38
Words: 84,756
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29352786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skjcartwork/pseuds/skjcartwork
Summary: Where 'Pride & Prejudice' and 'Harry Potter' collide.It is a truth universally acknowledged that Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy ought to hate one another. Their own respective pride and prejudices cloud their judgement and facilitate this supposed hatred. Only the other can break down these flaws.In a modern retelling of the original enemies to lovers story, follow the pair's erotic journey from vice to virtue.
Relationships: Cedric Diggory/Hermione Granger, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy, Luna Lovegood/Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott/Pansy Parkinson
Comments: 11
Kudos: 33





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The story of ‘Harry Potter’, its characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling. The same follows for Jane Austen's ‘Pride and Prejudice’. 
> 
> I have tailored both stories to fit this merged version as best as possible, so there are naturally some inconsistencies and deviations from the plot (this also helps so you don't always know what will happen next!) 
> 
> Although I took many events from ‘The Goblet of Fire’, please interpret the characters' ages as you wish. I do not necessarily intend for them to be in 4th year. Also certain characters / events come from the other books. 
> 
> There are some age differences that haven't been stuck to. For example, Luna and Ginny being in the same year as Hermione and both Viktor Krum and Tonks' ages. For the purposes of this story, I've placed Padma Patil in Gryffindor instead of Ravenclaw.
> 
> You do not need to have read ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in order to understand the story, although it might help. However if you have read the novel, you may perhaps enjoy the parallels that are included slightly more. 
> 
> Also available on wattpad. Username: skjcartwork
> 
> Contains mature content: explicit language, drug & alcohol use, explicit sexual content, references to death, murder and suicide.  
> Reader discretion is advised.

'The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and everyday confirms my belief of the inconsistencies of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense.'

\- Jane Austen ‘Pride and Prejudice’  
  


~

  
It is a truth universally acknowledged that any honourable Gryffindor would never associate themselves with a Slytherin. A Slytherin is, entirely unequivocally, the epitome of all that which is corrupt and deplorable within the world. It is impossible to disagree.

Such was Hermione Granger's (and almost every other Gryffindor in history) opinion until the introduction of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry’s newest student: Blaise Zabini.

In saying so, it also goes that a proud, pure-blooded Slytherin would never condescend so much as to willingly be in the presence of impure blood, particularly if that blood runs through the veins of a Gryffindor.

It is difficult to find something more indestructible than years and years of tradition. The social norms are carved into our understanding of the world like an imperishable scar. You can paint over it, you can mask it, you can glue a plaster over it. Oh look! You can't see it anymore!

Stereotypes are, of course, infallibly true and are impossible to be deceiving. It follows that these widely held prejudices are entirely natural and justified.

Bullshit, they would soon come to understand.

_The Gryffindor common room._

"Mione, Mione! Have you heard the good news? There's a brand new student," Parvati exclaimed. "I managed to catch a glimpse of him and Merlin he is a sex god."

Hermione was not one to be easily impressed by men, but having bumped into him not five minutes prior, she informed Parvati that she had indeed hear the news and that Blaise Zabini appeared particularly agreeable to her.

This caused Hermione to reflect upon her meeting with him with quite some pleasure. She had just come back from her usual late night trip to the library and was carrying a decent stack of hardcover spines. Her nose was deep within the scent of the musky parchment of the first little red book when she walked straight into him.

Thankfully, Hermione dropped none of the books. The only disruption caused by this interaction was within their countenances. He apologised profusely, as if by automatic response, and once he had satisfied himself with a dozen enquires about her health, he extended his hand to her and introduced himself as Blaise Zabini, a brand new Hogwarts pupil. Hermione shook his hand most willingly and gave him her name in return. He smiled - a most exuberant and innocent smile - and spoke of how glad he was to have made her acquaintance. Hermione assured him of the same with equal warmth and friendliness and waved as he departed from her with yet another apology.

"Devastatingly rich too. Shame he's been put in Slytherin though," Padma remarked.

"I wonder how that happened. I mean, he has such easy manners and from what I've heard, he strives to please wherever he goes." Ginny stated.

"Someone said he was a childhood friend of Draco Malfoy's and asked the sorting hat to put him in Slytherin. I'm assuming there must have been some form of coercion on Malfoy's behalf for who would willingly choose to be part of such a house?" Parvati huffed.

"That cannot be true; it seems far too unlikely. How can someone as amiable as him possibly tolerate such a foul, loathsome evil little cockroach?"

It was in this moment that Luna Lovegood strolled into the common room. It had been long since they had given the Ravenclaw the password as an honorary Gryffindor member and it was now customary that she visited them every now and then, being much excluded in her own house for her rather unconventional ideas.

The girls all greeted her warmly as she took her usual seat by the fireplace.

"There's an uncommon amount of nargals this year," said Luna, her ethereal voice sailing smoothly through dusk-lit common room.

"Yes I suppose there is, Luna," Ginny smiled, but Hermione did not. She had a feeling the lovely blonde was very sadly correct.

"I hope they won't ruin the dance tomorrow."

"Merlin, I almost forgot about that! I can't believe it's due to take place tomorrow. A whole year has passed since the first one, isn't that incredible? Oh, I do wonder if the new boy - Blane was it? - will be going," said Padma.

At the start of every new academic year, Hogwarts hosted a house colour themed formal to welcome back the students. It was never really that good but people generally went nonetheless because dancing was, of course, a certain step towards falling in love.

"If he is as agreeable in his passion for dancing as he is in propriety, I can almost guarantee his attendance," said Hermione.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Padma," teased Ginny. "Let's not forget what happened last year."

Padma attempted to cover her embarrassment with a quick giggle, but the rising pink heat in her cheeks gave her away.

"Ginny! You swore you'd never mention it again."

"Did I? That's terribly sad. It would be such a shame to forget that you got so drunk you pissed all over the floor of the Great Hall, went over to Snape and cried thinking you were pregnant because of your alleged bladder problem. Oh, not to mention that in doing so you left a trail of piss from the centre of the hall to the corner where Snape was standing."

Padma now covered her face with her hands in humiliation but couldn't help her laughter.

"Let's not forget that Snape then had to get Dumbledore, Hagrid and McGonagall to escort you out and you bit poor Hagrid on the arm. And then -"

"Ginny, I think you have tortured the poor girl enough," said Hermione.

"Safe to say I am not going anywhere near the refreshments table this year," cried Padma. "Hopefully one of you lot will embarrass yourselves so much that my horrific performance will be soon forgotten."

"Cheers, Padders," said Ginny, raising her glass of butterbeer ironically. Much to Padma's relief, the Gryffindors soon stopped indulging their mirth at the expense of her humiliating behaviour when Parvati changed the subject.

"Oh we need to start planning our hair, makeup, outfits - everything!" exclaimed Parvati, spilling with excitement and glee.

Hermione smiled at her friend's cheerfulness but could feel none of her own. As much as she loved a good dance and an opportunity to have fun with her friends, she could not be ignorant to the ever-imposing darkness that had come upon Hogwarts. She looked up into the window next to the mantelpiece and all she could see was an uncanny reflection of the past she was so accustomed to. This year was bound to be a time of change - not in the good sense - and Hermione Granger did not feel prepared for it.

Harry and Neville now stumbled in to the common room and were cordially welcomed into the girls' discussion.

"I heard some buzz over the formal," Neville said shyly.

"Oh not that stupid thing. How am I supposed to dance with two left feet?" Harry complained.

"Just because it's the one thing you're not good at doesn't mean you have to hate it, golden boy," Ginny mocked as she rolled her eyes.

"I am fairly, well, uh, for lack of a better word, excited about it," Neville mumbled almost incoherently.

"Liar," said Padma playfully. "We all know you've been practising for it this past year."

Neville's face turned redder than sofa he was perched on the end of and turned his face away from all of them in embarrassment.

"What about you, Hermione?" asked Luna, who had been quite fixed on her anxious expression.

"Oh - me - dreadfully excited, of course."

'Dreadfully anxious' would have perhaps been a more accurate reflection of her opinion, but she had no desire to dampen the sweet, innocent atmosphere in the tower that evening. She almost allowed herself to indulge in it, fall recklessly within it and disregard all the external factors that were the reason for the rarity of her smiles those days.


	2. Chapter 2

_The night of the September Formal._

Most of the other girls had gone into Hogsmeade that morning to purchase a new dress for the formal and Hermione admired how beautifully content and excited they all looked. In them, she could see the buzzing little girl who used to wait all year for the formal and would spend hours picking out the perfect dress. This year, she pulled out an old red dress she had already worn to a few Hogwarts parties, stroking it gently against her skin as she was reminded of how confident she had felt in it. But now, it was the only dress she owned that fit the house colours theme and so she pulled it onto herself and analysed herself in the mirror.

She felt she had outgrown it. Not in the sense that it was too small or anything, but more that her own character no longer fit its style. Fluttering wings of chiffon adorned the straps and the waist, cascading effortlessly down the flowing stream of the skirt. The hem fell at an awkward point just above her knee, but she now wished it would cover her legs entirely. Her shoulders were exposed, as was only the summit of her cleavage which peaked out shyly from the curved dip in the neckline. She nostalgically recalled how she secretly relished in these almost scandalous features, feeling for one of the first times in her life truly beautiful.

She missed that feeling.

Luna then strolled into the girls' dormitory, immediately complimenting them all on how well they looked. Hermione noticed she too was wearing an old dress, a loose sapphire frock that appeared almost silver and galactic in the moonlight. It complimented her cosmic irises and dilated pupils.

"Hello there Luna," smiled Parvati. "I was just saying to the girls how hungry I am. All this not eating so you'll get drunk quicker is really not worth it."

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," she replied. "If I had any food on me I would offer it to you."

Parvati smiled at her gratefully.

"Have you eaten, Luna?" asked Ginny. "We didn't see you at dinner."

"Something like that. I foraged a few things from the forest."

"I guess that'll do. Want some firewhiskey?"

"Oh, no thank you. No alcohol for me."

Ginny shrugged and turned to Hermione.

"What about you, Mione? You haven't had anything so far."

"I'm alright. Not really in the mood to drink tonight."

Ginny gave her friend an understanding nod and turned back over to the Patil twins who handed her another shot.

Hermione threw on a complimentary pair of red button heels, knowing she would regret the choice later, as the girls got ready to leave the dorm. There were last minute hair and makeup touch-ups before the girls descended the stairs and met with the rest of their house in the common room. They were flooded with compliments and being the last group of people to arrive, they immediately set off for the Great Hall.

~

There was liveliness and animation across all the attendees of the formal. The boys were all dressed in sumptuous suits and robes (except Ron) and almost all the girls in the room had spent hours putting their looks together, each one more eager than the other to catch the attention of the much celebrated Blaise Zabini.

However, their efforts were soon proved to be partly in vain upon Luna Lovegood's entrance. Her radiant hair and angelic complexion caught Blaise's eye immediately and without the slightest hesitation, he made his way towards her and introduced himself.

Not a five minutes later, the pair were dancing in the middle of the room, smiling and laughing with glee. Hermione, Ginny and the Patil twins watched the pair with adoration, commenting on how well they looked together. Although Luna's beauty was complimented wherever they went, they all agreed that they had never seen her so content with a partner.

Soon, Neville had asked Ginny to dance and the Patil twins also found themselves engaged by Harry and Ron respectively, leaving Hermione sat alone to observe the night's events.

She had previously stated that everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves tremendously, but she soon found herself in fault when her eyes landed on none other than Draco Malfoy himself. He was most certainly not known to be a great sport, but being in possession of the only frown in the room, Hermione found herself observing him in great detail.

He was wearing a fitted black suit and his ice-white hair was parted perfectly in the centre. Of course he would be the only person in the room not to follow the dress code. Almost instinctively, Hermione smoothed out her red dress and fiddled nervously with the dainty gold necklace Parvati had lent her. She had, quite naturally, stuck very strictly to the house colours theme.

The third dance of the night had ended and after giving his partner a polite bow, Blaise took his leave from the dance floor and made his way towards his childhood friend.

"Come on, Draco. You're being incredibly dull by not dancing. Are you really planning on spending the night sulking in the corner?"

"Yes. Well noticed."

"I will not stand for this. You must dance the next dance."

"Pansy and Astoria are both engaged. You know it would be a punishment for me to stand up with anyone else."

"Cut the bullshit, Draco. Just choose a fucking partner already." It was Theodore Nott who spoke this time, having just made his way over to them.

"What about Miss Granger? She's not presently engaged and if she's even only half as agreeable as her friend, Miss Lovegood, I daresay she would make an excellent partner."

Theo burst out laughing and mockingly added: "Yeah Draco, why don't you dance with the Hermit? I'm sure you'll take great pleasure in those teeth of hers - and that blood."

Hermione didn't think Malfoy's expression could get any colder but it dropped about ten degrees when Blaise made his utterly absurd suggestion.

"Fucking Granger? You mean that pathetic excuse for a witch sitting in the corner of the room and wearing the same dress she wore last year? There's a reason no one's bloody asked her to dance. Who in their right mind would stand up in front of everyone with a filthy mudblood like her? I'd rather go down on McGonagall's shrivelled cunt," he scoffed as he crossed his arms tighter around his chest. "You are fully aware that I have a reputation and family lineage to uphold. I can only assume that your lunatic of a partner has already tainted your sanity and good taste. Return to her and enjoy her smiles; you are wasting your time with me."

Blaise looked visibly horrified by Malfoy's shocking words, finding himself both immobile and speechless. It was Theo who broke the silence.

"Pretty speech, Malfoy. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going outside for fag." As he made his way out of the hall, he pulled a cigarette out of a little metallic case and propped it in between his lips.

As much as Malfoy's words hurt, Hermione had also never been so entertained in her life. She got up from her seat, making sure to pass by the two remaining Slytherins and smiled to herself before making her way towards Ginny to fill her in on what just happened.

"Oh Mione, you are losing absolutely nothing by not suiting his fancy. It would almost be an insult to be liked by him. Take no notice of it."

The next dance was due to start and while Ginny made her way to the dance floor, Hermione went over to the refreshments table and poured herself a glass of a red coloured drink. The drink burned her throat as she downed it which, in retrospect, should have concerned her more.

She was in the process of downing her third drink when she noticed Malfoy staring at her. When had he come to the refreshments table?

Hermione's head started to pound and her vision was getting gradually more blurry. She had also gained a newfound confidence which caused her to turn to Malfoy and address him.

"I should wonder if you would stand up and dance with yourself if you could, Mr Malfoy."

"Do not call me Mr Malfoy."

"You have no issue calling me whatever you please, and if you don't mind, I'll claim the same freedom you took so liberally a few moments ago."

A small wave of panic flashed so minutely in his eyes, that had Hermione not been staring so deeply into them, she would've surely missed it.

"I am not my father. If I hear you addressing me in such a way again, I will fucking end you."

"What an abominable crime you accuse me of! I most certainly would never dare to mock Draco Malfoy for his infamous little daddy issues. Not a pathetic excuse for a witch like myself," she slurred as her thoughts began to lose their usual clarity.

He didn't respond.

"You really think yourself to be perfect, don't you? Like you're better than everyone else. Well I don't. Everyday I see more and more that you're just a spoilt little rich boy, obsessed by the illusion of pure-bloody supremacy. Don't think yourself without failings. It's been quite some time since I've realised that your defect is a propensity to hate every body."

"And yours is wilfully to misunderstand them."

With a scowl, she turned her back to him and began to walk away. Each step she took was more unbalanced than the other. Much to her delight, she just managed to reach Ginny without having fallen flat on her face.

"Oh bloody Merlin, Mione, did you drink the red stuff?"

"Uh, about that, well, uh, I only had a teeny tiny bit."

"Bloody hell Hermione, I thought you were supposed to be some genius or something. Didn't you know that my brothers spiked it with firewhiskey?"

Bloody Fred and George. She should've known.

"I need to get you some water. You wait right here. Don't you dare move," she instructed as she sat Hermione down on one of the chairs.

Don't get her wrong, Hermione had intended to follow Ginny's orders, but as soon as the ginger witch had left her side, she felt a wave of heat that made her desperate for some fresh air and she quickly forgot Ginny's instructions.

She managed to make her way out into the courtyard and slumped herself down on a bench. The sky was cloudy and starless. Only a timid beam of moonlight escaped from behind those dark clouds.

A muffled hum of orchestral music waltzed through the faintly stinging cold of the air. It was that awkward point of autumn in which the summer heat was beginning to surrender to the frosty winter and Hermione found her hot flushes unattended to.

Her head was pounding, her vision was losing clarity and she felt a strange nauseous feeling rising within her stomach.

Footsteps - someone was approaching her. She turned her head to see who it was but failed miserably. It was only when the person spoke that she realised it was Cedric Diggory who had approached her.

"Malfoy is an idiot not stand up with you. But I guess I can thank him for leaving you unengaged. I saw you leaving the hall and so I came in search of you. Would you do me the honour of dancing with me?"

Cedric Diggory of all people? One of the best looking and most popular wizards in the whole school was asking her to dance? Hermione could hardly believe her ears, especially after what Malfoy had said.

_There's a reason no one's bloody asked her to dance. Who in their right mind would stand up in front of everyone with a filthy mudblood like her?_

She hated how much his cruel words stung her. She knew better than to let someone like Malfoy affect her opinion of herself.

"Oh no, you heard that?" She slurred as she slapped her palm on her head in embarrassment. "But, yes, I'd love to dance with you."

Cedric grinned widely at her response and helped her up. He then offered her his arm and, impressed by his chivalry, she looped her own arm through his. As they made their way back to the hall, she couldn't help but gush over Cedric's kindness to her. She was also very pleased that she had been able to form somewhat of a coherent response to his request.

As they were about to enter the hall, Hermione almost froze at seeing Malfoy leaning against the wall next to the entrance. His eyes locked on her, squinting malevolently. Cedric tugged her arm, eyeing Malfoy suspiciously, who returned his glare with one of equal coldness. Hermione averted her eyes downwards, taking particular care to avoid Malfoy's eyes. In spite of her attempts to ignore him, she could not escape from the burning glare of his frown. She had hardly to look at him to understand that she could not avoid his scrutiny.

Once they were inside, she and Cedric pushed their way through the crowd, into the centre of the room only to find that the dance had already started. Hermione immediately began to panic, thinking they had missed their chance.

"Not to worry," said Cedric brightly. "We'll just do our own dance."

He took Hermione's hand and kissed it gently, bowing his head slightly in doing so. Hermione felt herself blush all the way down to her toes. Never had she been treated with such respect and gentility. She would later wonder whether it was the alcohol or the boy before her that had caused her to momentarily forget all her sorrows and concerns.

But what worried her now was how on Earth she was going to dance if she couldn't even walk straight.

"Screw this regency dancing, let's just dance however feels natural," he shouted over the music, noticing Hermione's anxiety. "You can even lose the shoes if you want."

"I can't - that's entirely improper," said Hermione, looking both shocked at his suggestion and drawn to it.

"Who cares? Come on, let loose a little."

She rolled her eyes and unbuckled her heels. The feeling was sensational, as though she had finally dropped some heavy rock she had been forced to carry the whole evening.

"See, look how much better that feels!"

"You're so right," she giggled, holding the heels out in front of her before chucking them to the side.

"Hermione Granger gone wild," he laughed as he took hold of her hands and began to sway them from side to side.

"This is ridiculous, you know."

"Ridiculously liberating, huh?"

"I hate to say it but you're right," she sighed comically. "Even if everyone is looking at us."

"No, Hermione, they are looking at you."

She scoffed and shook her head, confused by his remark and unwilling to reply to it.

"I mean it," he said in serious tone. "You look breathtaking in that dress. You always look beautiful."

Her recollection of the night's events ended there.

~

Stupid drunk horse-faced mudblood.

So what if she heard what he said to Blaise about her? The fact that she really seemed to think he gave a shit about that was comical. Did she take him for some lily-livered Hufflepuff bitch boy?

And then to fucking try him at the refreshments table as if he had given her permission to speak to him. He was so full of anger and rage that he could no longer remain in the stuffy hall. He hated warmth.

Once he had made his way outside, he found himself entirely dissatisfied with the lukewarm humidity of the evening. He ripped the top two buttons of his shirt right off and pulled out a silver chain he had concealed underneath it. The very bottom of the chain had a pendant in the shape of a silver capsule attached to it with a hissing serpent wrapped around it. He ran his fingers over the Malfoy crest that was indented on the back as he began to unscrew the top. After three twists, an inch-sized silver spoon emerged from the capsule which was half-empty with a finely ground white powder.

With a steady hand, he filled the curvature of the metal with the powder. It looked so pure and he wanted to consume it. Destroy it.

He brought the spoon up to his right nostril and pressed down firmly on the other with his left index finger as every single particle shot through him. He didn't twitch once.

Instead, he rolled his head back in pleasure, savouring every inch closer he progressed to that requisite high. It was his only solace among the darkness that clung to his every essence of being.

And then he saw her splayed across a bench in the courtyard like a dead rabbit's carcass. He immediately wiped his nose clean with the back of his hand and glanced over again. She looked positively shambolic.

He picked his back off the wall and stood up properly, feeling himself drawn to her. He wanted to go over to her and scold her into obedience. To make it known to her that no one, especially not a Gryffindor mudblood, was to speak to him like that.

As soon as he was about to start moving towards her, he saw she was moving towards him. Her dress - which he noticed looked like a putrid flow of menstruation - was blowing in the light breeze. Was she coming towards him? He glared at her, shooting daggers in her direction. But her countenance only showed surprise. Malfoy didn't understand her. And then she was being tugged away - what was going on?

And that was when he realised that she was arm in arm with Cedric fucking Diggory.

So, lily-livered Hufflepuff bitch boys were her thing, huh? Not only did the girl have poor taste in clothing, but this extended to her taste in men also. Boys, he should say. Cedric Diggory would never be a man, not in his eyes.

Yet he was fucking touching her. They were arm in arm. And he was leading her to the dance floor.

Malfoy immediately followed after them, shoving a few first years aside as he pushed his way to the front. Neville Longbottom actually ran away from him.

He made his way to the front and to his utmost delight, the dance had already started. Too bad, he thought, a triumphant smirk stretching across his face. No dance for the poor little golden girl and the Edward Cullen look-alike.

The smile was immediately stripped from his face when he saw him kiss her hand. Who the fuck gave him the audacity? That hand wasn't his to kiss. He should have known better than to step into another man's territory.

He watched with contempt as they danced disgustingly recklessly and as she kicked her heels off as if she were some wild creature. She was laughing. Why was she laughing? What could that uncooked chicken of a boy possibly have said to make her laugh?

He began to turn around but was immediately stopped by a loud thud that echoed through the room.


	3. Chapter 3

_The next morning in the Gryffindor girls' dorm._

Hermione's eyes gradually began to open, firstly taking notice of the unbearable pounding in her head, and then of the anxious expressions of her fellow Gryffindors.

They all rushed to speak as soon as she gained consciousness, which only made her headache worse.

Ginny silenced them all with a loud and forceful: "shut it!", much to Hermione's gratification.

"What in Godric's name happened last night?"

Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, but her hair had been down last night. She was also wearing a t-shirt that didn't belong to her, but it looked like Parvati’s. She immediately flung herself out of bed and stumbled over to the mirror, still feeling a little intoxicated, and saw that her makeup was gone too. Two heavy purple and blue bags appeared underneath her eyes. She fell back down onto the bed and covered her face with her hands. 

Parvati decided to break the news: "Oh Mione, you accidentally had a bit too much to drink and when you were dancing with Cedric Diggory, congratulations by the wa-"

Padma whacked Parvati, causing her to wince in pain.

"What? We were all thinking it," she defended.

"What my sister was trying to say was that you fell flat on your face when you were dancing with Cedric Diggory. He helped you up and you proceeded to literally abandon the poor boy and went over to Malfoy for some peculiar reason. We don't know exactly what you said to him but we came over and got you before anything escalated and took you straight to bed where you proceeded to projectile vomit for the rest of the night."

"We tied your hair up in a ponytail, got rid of your dress - which we had to bin unfortunately because it was covered in vomit, and removed your makeup. I'm not sure where your shoes went because you were barefoot when we grabbed you but I hope that's not too much of an issue," added Ginny.

"Merlin have mercy, I am mortified," she exclaimed, covering her face in shame. "I sincerely apologise for ruining your nights. Oh and what are the others going to say?"

By the others she meant Draco Malfoy. But they did not need to know that.

What on Earth could she have possibly said to him?

It was Luna who spoke next. "Oh don't worry, Mione. It was nearing the end of the formal and people had already begun to leave. We were planning on leaving soon anyway."

"What she means to say is that Blaise, Ron, Harry and Neville had already left and we had nothing keeping us there any longer," Ginny teased.

"And you made the night unforgettable. We won't let you live this one down, Granger," winked Parvati.

It was clear the girls were not disappointed in Hermione, only worried for her health, which reassured her enough to change the subject.

"And you, little Miss Lovegood, I can see the smile stamped on your face. Good night, to say the least?"

Luna's face lit up and she nodded nervously. "He is just what a young man ought to be. I am very well pleased by him."

"Oh, she's just being shy, last night she couldn't stop talking about how much she liked him," Ginny laughed playfully.

Hermione felt a slight pang of guilt at having missed out on congratulating her friend last night and attempted to make up for it now.

"I give you full leave to like him, Luna. You've liked many a stupider person."

"Mione!"

They continued to laugh and discuss last night's events as Hermione finally got out of bed and began to get herself ready for breakfast.

"I'm going to need to stop by Madame Pomfrey's for something to cure this headache. I'll catch up with you lot later."

Luna insisted on accompanying her to the hospital wing while the others made their way to the Great Hall along with the Gryffindor boys.

Her mood greatly increased when she saw the line of students outside the hospital wing, all groaning and massaging their temples. She wasn't the only hapless victim of Fred and George's little prank.

~

_Breakfast at the Gryffindor Table in the Great Hall._

"Hermione, you made it!" Harry exclaimed, infinitely happy to see her. "Fun night, huh?"

"Oh Harry, don't you start too. Please can we just forget it all?"

"Mione, I swear I'm going to kill Malfoy," said Neville with a sweet attempt at confidence. "I heard what he said to you."

Hermione gave him a loving smile. Neville was always looking out for her.

She politely declined the plate of sausages he passed over to her. Neville looked terribly ashamed of himself and immediately apologised, remembering that she had given up eating meat a while ago. He immediately reached for a bowl of baked beans and a plate of hash browns and passed those over to her instead.

Parvati spoke next.

"He is quite truly the proudest, most disagreeable wizard there ever was." 

"The things he said are entirely inexcusable. But look on the bright side. His poor opinion of you did save you a dance with him. Could you imagine actually having to stand up with him?" added Ginny.

"I believe I may safely promise you never to dance with Draco Malfoy."

"Blaise said he never speaks much unless among his intimate acquaintance. With them he is remarkably agreeable."

Luna often tried to see the best in people, even those who did not deserve it. In this case, it only encouraged the weasel to speak against almost everyone's desires.

"His pride," said Ron, "does not offend me at all. He has an important family, lineage, fortune, everything in his favour. Of course he thinks highly of himself. He has a right to be proud."

She really wished Ronald Weasley would simply shut up sometimes, but he was Harry's best friend and Ginny's brother, so she forced cordiality.

"I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine."

Thankfully, the sour mood was cut short by Seamous accidentally setting his porridge on fire. How he always managed to do that, she knew not how. The conversation was forgotten and they chatted merrily for the remainder of breakfast, except for the occurrence of a most peculiar event right at the end of the hour.

~

_Breakfast at the Slytherin Table in the Great Hall._

Malfoy's eyes had not once made contact with his food for they had been fixed on a mass of dark frizzy hair at the Gryffindor table. He had looked over with the intent to criticise after last night's events.

He closed the leather-bound pad of parchment he often carried around with him.

"She really hardly has a good feature on her face," Malfoy blurted out subconsciously, much to his friends' amazement as their conversation at the time was of a different topic entirely. They looked at him with confusion, encouraging him to make sense of himself.

"Granger of course."

Pansy Parkinson was only too eager to second the remark and began a long criticism of Miss Granger's appearance, paying particular attention to her wild and untamed appearance this morning and her horrendous set of teeth.

"I suppose we all look a little disheveled this morning. It is to be expected the morning after a most excellently well spent evening," said Blaise.

"Blaise, you really ought to be less forgiving," said Pansy. "When someone is hideously ugly, there is no need to justify their being so. Wouldn't you agree, Draco? Or do you find Miss Granger to be a reputed beauty?"

"I should as soon call her blonde friend sane."

Pansy and Theo lost themselves in fits of laughter but Blaise immediately came to both young women's defence. However, he soon found his efforts to be of no consequence and thus abandoned his quest, deciding to go over to where Miss Lovegood was seated and enquire after her health. 

Draco, who had been analysing the Gryffindor for quite some time now, found himself quite lost in her.

He had meant to find fault in her air, but could not escape from an observation that her figure was light and pleasing. While her manners last night were in want of propriety, this morning he was caught by their easy playfulness.

He grew indescribably and inexplicably envious of those around her and her attentions to them, and in desire to know more of her, he made his way over to the Gryffindor table.

Every set of eyes was burned on him. A Slytherin approaching the Gryffindor table? Unheard of. Let alone a Malfoy.

Hermione took it upon herself to address him, given that everyone else was too shocked to speak.

"Malfoy, are you under the stupefy spell or have you simply lost your mind?"

Malfoy remained quite still and silent for a moment or two longer, before quickly composing himself and returning himself to a state of normality.

"Quite the contrary, I assure you, Miss Granger," sneered Malfoy in attempt to redeem his ordinary self. "I was simply driven here in awe by how much bullshit was coming from a certain cheap ginger mouth. That is all."

With that, he turned and strode out, leaving behind him a wave of amazement and confusion in every face in the Great Hall.


	4. Chapter 4

_Defence against the Dark Arts._

Mad-Eye Moody called Granger to the front to demonstrate the Stunning Spell. How fitting after yesterday morning's events.

As expected, Granger's demonstration was of the highest quality and resulted in a round of applause from her slimey little friends.

Typical Gryffindors.

But the cheer and support from her peers caused her golden eyes to sparkle with glee - the same eyes he had always perceived to be muddy and filthy. And given that eyes are indeed the window to the soul, he had in the past deemed them to be an accurate reflection of her blood status.

But somehow, he could not convince himself of the same this day. He began to question his sanity and was most impertinently interrupted by Pansy Parkinson.

"I believe I can guess the subject of your reverie," she mocked.

"I should imagine not."

Parkinson, a determined flirt, continued nonetheless.

"You are considering how insupportable it is to be in the constant company of such foul blood traitors and mudbloods."

"Your guess is not entirely without foundation and you would, in many situations, be correct. But my mind is currently more agreeably engaged."

"And how so?" Pansy asked whilst twirling a section of her hair around her finger.

"I have been transfixed by a pair of very fine eyes."

Pansy stroked Draco's arm seductively and drew in closer to him before whispering into his ear:

"And to whom might these fine eyes belong?"

"Miss Hermione Granger."

Pansy Parkinson's mouth dropped in astonishment and her skin grew red and furious. After shooting Granger daggers through her eyes, she stormed straight out of the classroom without another word.

Mad Eye Moody made a quick passing comment but gave the event no more attention. He really couldn't care less.

And why the fuck had Draco admitted that to Pansy? He wasn't by any means afraid of people finding out; she was far too proud to go around telling people. It was by how freely he had admitted it - out loud too - that had taken him aback. It was only a comment on her eyes of course. As far as everyone else was concerned, he still despised the obnoxious little mudblood.

Which he did. No question.

~

_Gryffindor common room later that night._

There was much buzz and chatter in the common room that night given Dumbledore's recent revelation of the Triwizard Tournament that was to take place at Hogwarts.  
The girls were as much excited by the prospect of the Durmstrang staying at their school as the boys were by that of the Beauxbatons.

Parvati suggested a game of Truth or Dare with a hint of Veritaserum in order to uncover certain people's honest opinions on past and future events.

There was an almost unanimous agreement, except for Harry and Hermione who groaned at the prospect, but their opinions were overruled by the majority.

They went round the circle, uncovering many secrets and much laughter arose from the humiliating dares. Parvati revealed her huge crush on Oliver Wood and Padma ashamedly told everyone that she and Ron had gotten down and dirty after the September formal. The girls requested more details and could hardly contain their laughter when Padma revealed his lack of sexual prowess.

It was now Ron's turn to create a truth or a dare for Luna who was reluctant to participate but did so nonetheless. Luna had no intention of revealing her affections for Blaise at the present moment and so, to be on the safe side, she picked dare.

"That's an interesting choice from you, Luna," Ron jeered. It had annoyed Ron for quite some time that Luna spent almost all her time with the Gryffindors despite being a Ravenclaw. It also did not help that Padma had just humiliated him. "If you're so brave, go swim in the Black Lake."

Everyone began to protest about how absurd the dare was. It was far too dangerous and if Luna was so lucky as to not be killed by the various creatures that lived in it, she would surely die of a cold.

"Nonsense," declared Ron. "People do not die of little trifling colds. If Luna believes herself to be an honorary member of Gryffindor, then she should have no objection to this dare."

Luna was determined to be accepted by the Gryffindors and it had often troubled her that she might be shunned by yet another house. She accepted the dare.

“It’s alright. I’m sure the creatures won’t mind sharing their lake with me for a few moments. I’ll be quite fine.”

Now all that was left to do was for a few of them to sneak out of the dorm and down to the Great Lake.

They managed to do so successfully and everyone, except Ron, watched with apprehension as Luna dived into the lake.

There was a terrible wind that night which resulted in an agitated lake, not helped by the fact that the temperature was below freezing. It wasn't long before Luna began to struggle to stay afloat.

Everyone started to yell at Ron, telling him that this was bound to happen. His face was white with fear. He hadn't intended for her to be in severe danger, only to scare her a little. Stupid, stupid weasel.

There was no time to shout at Ron - they had to save Luna. Hermione plunged herself into the lake and tried to swim towards Luna who was gasping for air as another wave swallowed her.

Behind her, she heard another splash in the lake. Someone had joined them. She turned around and to her utmost surprise, she found it to be Blaise Zabini. There was no time to talk but she assumed he must have seen from the Slytherin common room and rushed over immediately.

Blaise and Hermione swam together with all their strength, just about managing to reach Luna and pull her up from the depths of the lake. How on Earth were they going to be able to reach the shore with these currents?

"Harry!" Hermione shouted over the waves. "Get your broomstick and pull us out."

She had no idea if it would work but she imagined it was their best bet. Harry wasted no time. He conjured a broom and immediately flew over to them, signalling to Blaise to grab onto the end. Harry's broom was being pushed to the limit and it was unclear how much time they had before it would yield.

"Pull harder, Harry," Hermione begged.

"You can do it Harry, come on."

Harry tried everything in his power to get the broom to move with the weight of them all behind. His broom was almost vertical with how much he was pushing down on it.

Eventually the broom started to move and they all landed on the shore with a painful thud. Harry's broom had snapped in half, but he gave it no thought and rushed straight over to Luna.

"She's not breathing."

Hermione could see Blaise's eyes tearing up and he made no effort to hide it.

"Come on Luna, wake up, please," he pleaded.

"We need to get her inside. She must be freezing."

"We can't take her to the hospital wing, we'll all get in trouble," someone said. It sounded like Ron.

"We don't have much choice, do we?" said Hermione.

"Yes we do," said Blaise.

Everyone stopped and stared at him in confusion.

"Follow me," he commanded as he picked Luna up into his arms and began to run towards the castle.

~

_The Slytherin Common Room._

No Gryffindor, other than Harry and Ron under Polyjuice potion in second year, had entered the Slytherin common room for years.

All for Luna, Blaise broke this, letting her and Hermione into the common room whilst the others snuck back to the Gryffindor Tower, trying not to get caught by Argus Filch and Mrs Norris. Although, they would later mention a particularly troubling and inconvenient encounter they had with Peeves upon their return.

There was no way they could drag an unconscious girl through the castle without getting caught, which is why Blaise suggested Luna and Hermione follow him back to the dungeons.

There was really no time to contest. Assuring Luna's safety was of paramount importance.

Once they were inside, they were met by none other than Miss Pansy Parkinson, whose face in the moment was priceless.

"Blaise what they fuck have you done? Are we to be invaded by every Gryffindor in the castle?"

Blaise politely informed her that Luna Lovegood was a Ravenclaw, whilst he lay her down on one of the sofas and immediately grabbed his wand.

"I know that, you idiot. But she pretty much counts as one now."

Blaise ignored her remark and turned to Hermione, asking her what they should do now.

"Anapneo!" Hermione declared, pointing her wand at Luna. A little water blurted out of Luna's throat but it wasn't enough to restore her breathing.

"We're running out of time, think!"

It was in that moment that someone charmed Luna and a bubble appeared around her head and she was finally breathing again. Hermione rushed over to her, overwhelmed by joy. She really thought she was close to losing her friend there.

She then turned to Blaise to thank him for his quick thinking and bravery, but only found him in a state of confusion. She turned around to Pansy who had no wand in her hand and had Blaise's same expression.

"It's the bubblehead charm."

Draco fucking Malfoy.

"Surely a witch as bright as you should have known. Anapneo would have worked if she was choking on a little water but she was pretty much still swimming, or at least her insides were. The charm allows her to breath under water."

"You-"

"You're welcome," he said with a bow and took a seat next to Pansy.

"Thank you," she blurted out, much to Malfoy's surprise. He gave her a quick nod and turned to face the window.

"Oh and thank you, Blaise. Your courage and kindness does you much credit," said Hermione, deeply gratified. "May I just ask one thing? How on Earth did you know to come?"

"Pure stroke of luck. I was walking past and saw a crowd of people gathered by the lake and so, out of curiosity, went to see what was going on. When I saw Luna - Miss Lovegood - on the point of drowning, I immediately jumped in. No second thought."

"Thank you, Blaise, truly," Luna croaked, her voice fragile.

After all the water had left Luna’s lungs, Hermione skilfully removed the bubblehead charm and Luna - albeit still a little in shock - was fully recovered. The two witches stood to their feet and began to get ready to leave. Hermione felt as though they'd already overstayed their welcome.

"Please, Miss Lovegood and Miss Granger, stay another half hour or so longer, just while Miss Lovegood regains her strength," Blaise insisted.

Hermione inhaled deeply, considering the offer for a moment. Luna appeared particularly willing to accept and so Hermione thanked Blaise and agreed to his suggestion.

"You must be joking," muttered Pansy, as she looked over at Draco flirtatiously. She was not going to let this morning's events hinder her advancements. Especially not in front of the obstacle itself.

“Oh it’s so terribly tiring to be one of the only women left in this castle with a hint of propriety,” groaned Pansy as she dramatically slumped herself down in the chair next to Draco, holding the back of her hand against her forehead.

“Does she mean us?” whispered Luna, but Hermione was glaring at the two seated Slytherins so intensely that she hadn’t heard her friend address her.

Pansy then leaned her head against Draco’s shoulder but found herself shaken off abruptly.

“Your manners are not even vaguely reminiscent of propriety, Parkinson,” said Draco coldly.

Pansy immediately fixed her posture and tilted her head aristocratically.

“My parents have spent good money ensuring that I am well mannered and accomplished, Draco, and you know that. Perhaps, I could sometimes be a little more well behaved.” Pansy said this last sentence flirtatiously before continuing. “However, there is not much else I could do to be more accomplished than I already am.”

“There is,” replied Draco sharply.

“Please, do enlighten me,” said Pansy, looking astonished.

“You should aim to improve your mind by extensive reading,” said Draco, turning momentarily to look at the girl on the sofa. “Being more attentive to your friends may also be admirable quality.”

Pansy followed Draco’s eye and her jaw twitched. It would not do; she would have to do better. She saw that the wizard sitting next to her was twisting his wand in between his fingers. Noticing the opportunity, she quickly resumed her flirty.

"I'm afraid you do not like your wand, Draco. Let me mend it for you. I mend wands remarkably well."

"I am well aware, Pansy, Theo has said as much."

Hermione let out a gasp, hoping the innuendo was unintentional before returning to her attentions towards her dear friend.

"But thank you for the offer, Pansy. When I am bored of mending my own wand, I will be sure to let you know."

"Shocking response, Draco. How am I to punish you?"

"How about you let Granger decide?" He smirked and his faithful servant grinned right back at him.

"Oh please, Draco, she'll make you go hug a Hufflepuff or something."

"Or she'll whip out her time turner and make me go save loony Lovegood myself."

"How do you know about tha-" Hermione began but was interrupted by Pansy.

"Would you like to take a walk around the room with me, Miss Granger? I am sure you are in desperate need to clear your thoughts and it is so refreshing."

Hermione declined the offer with cold civility.

"Typical boring old Gryffindor. Think they're better than walking with a Slytherin. I don't call that courage, in fact I think it's a rather accurate reflection of your prude-like qualities."

"I deserve no such censure, Miss Parkinson. I have no issue being friendly with Mr Zabini here. I declined the offer purely based on its nature."

"How so?"

"Well, you mean to show off your figure to Malfoy by walking around the room and I would only get in your way. Please, do continue, I have my friend to tend to."

Pansy scoffed, muttered something inaudible under her breath and turned back to Malfoy.

"Would you care to join me, Draco?"

"I think I will decline on the same basis as Miss Granger."

Hermione had by then had enough and decided to give Malfoy a piece of her mind.

"I am surprised at you aligning your thoughts with mine, Malfoy. I would have thought you much too proud for that."

"And I didn't take you for an erratic person, Granger. You said something quite different a few nights ago, at the formal."

Panic flooded Hermione's face - was this what Padma was talking about the other morning?

"I wasn't in the right state of mind that night and have no recollection of what happened or what I said past a certain point."

“All the better,” said Draco cruelly.

“You have no intention to inform me of what it is I said?”

“Precisely,” he replied, a small grin creeping onto his lips.

“How awfully cruel of you, Draco,” interrupted Pansy who was visibly frustrated at her being neglected by Draco in favour of Hermione. “Tell the mudblood what she said and move on.”

Draco looked at Pansy with contempt.

“I assure you it would be far crueller if I announced Miss Granger’s exact words to the whole room.”

“How kind of you to concern your self with my well-being, Malfoy,” Hermione mocked. “I’m not succumbing to another one of your little games. I don’t care to know what I said so you can keep it to yourself.”

That was a lie, of course. Hermione was burning with a mixture curiosity and worry. What could she have possibly said?

“You really were a mess two night ago, Granger, weren’t you? Unsurprisingly, really, for one of your kind.”

"Hermione, let's leave," Luna whispered. There was pain in her voice.

Hermione ignored her advice and, clenching her fists, began her rebuttal.

"I wonder why you would bother insulting me when you know well enough that I have never desired your good opinion and never will."

"If you are so unbothered, Granger, why do my words affect you so much?"

Gasp.

"That's it, Hermione, we're leaving right now." Luna's voice and position had both been raised simultaneously.

"Thank you all so much the incredibly amicable hospitality," she spat, her eyes squinting directly at Draco while he waved her off with a sinister smile.

“Still not curious?” he shouted after her, as the two non-Slytherins were just about to exit. 

Hermione’s shoulders rose up almost to her ears, but she refused to let her anger get the best of her. No, she would not turn around and grant him the satisfaction.

  
And with that, Luna and Hermione left the Slytherin common room without any intention of ever coming back.


	5. Chapter 5

_The Great Hall a few evenings later._

The much awaited evening finally arrived when the Beauxbatons and the Durmstrang were due to arrive at Hogwarts.

The Patil twins could hardly eat, they were chattering away with so much excitement. They could talk of nothing but the Durmstrang and their red coats, so much so that Professor McGonagoll had to come over and calm them down.

"Now girls, I know this is all very exciting but you need to eat your dinner before our guests arrive."

"But Professor McGonagoll, you don't understand how excited we are," Parvati exclaimed.

"Oh girls, it may be hard to believe, but I was young too once. And I had a very strong liking towards a red coat myself. My heart broke when he went back to Bulgaria. But come on now, you must finish your food - everyone else already has."

The Gryffindors all burst out laughing when McGonagoll was out of earshot but were silenced by the sound of the Great Hall doors opening.

"They're here..."

The Beauxbatons were the first to enter, looking perfectly elegant in their periwinkle blue uniforms. The eyes of every single student was glued on them, almost bewitched by them.

Behind them was their Headmistress, and Seamous Finnigan spoke what everything was thinking when he said:

"Blimey that's one big woman."

Next to make their appearance were the proud sons of Durmstrang who blew everyone away with their incredible discipline and talented, albeit rather frightening, performance. 

At the very end of the parade was their high master Igor Karkaroff and Viktor Krum, whom everyone recognised immediately for his fame. The girls all sighed as he walked past them. He was a world renowned heartthrob.

The only exception to this was Hermione Granger who was looking at Draco Malfoy for the entire duration of the parade. Her heart sunk a little when he saw him eye the Beauxbatons and even wink at one of the very pretty ones - Fleur Delacour she later found out her name was. She almost hit herself for doing so. Why should she care? 

But when Viktor Krum strode into the room, Malfoy's face dropped a whole metre. The two made cold eye contact and both were visibly uncomfortable at the other's presence. He even got up to leave but Theodore Nott yanked him down and whispered something in his ear.

"Viktor Krum could punch me in the face and I'd thank him," said Parvati, receiving a mixture of laughter and agreement from the other girls. The boys scowled and retaliated by discussing Fleur Delacour's beauty and charm, hoping to offend the girls but they could only agree. She was truly admired by everybody.

They were silenced only by Professor McGonagall who took to the stand to introduce the customary Yule Ball that was held for the students of Wizarding Schools who participated in the Triwizard Tournament on Christmas Eve.

"This is far more important than our yearly September Formal. There hasn't been a Yule Ball for over two hundred years. Why you may ask?"

Hermione's hand shot up.

"Yes, Miss Granger."

"The attack of 1792."

"Very good, Miss Granger. Ten points to Gryffindor."

Malfoy rolled his eyes. Typical.

"As I was saying, you must all be on your best behaviour. No shenanigans will be tolerated whatsoever. I'm speaking particularly to you Mr Fred and George Weasley."

Fred and George stood up and bowed which received much laughter.

They were soon all dismissed and allowed to get to know the other Wizarding schools.

Several girls flooded over to where Viktor Krum was standing, competing for his attention but he ignored them and made his way over to the Gryffindor table.

"Am I correct in saying that your name is Miss Hermione Granger?" He asked. His Bulgarian accent made her sigh slightly under her breath but she composed herself immediately. She would not let herself swoon over him like everyone else, even if he did pay her the compliment of singling her out.

"Yes, that is correct. I believe yours to be Viktor Krum."

"You're very good, Miss Granger. That is what stood out to me. I am hardly acquainted with you but I can already tell you have a remarkable intelligence."

As they continued their conversation, Hermione was fighting the urge to ask him about the coldness between him and Malfoy which she slowly slipped into discussion.

"Do you happen to already know a few people that go here?"

He listed a few names before saying "and Mr Draco Malfoy. Although I regret to say that I would not wish to pursue that acquaintance any further."

"Yes, I won't lie to you, I did notice the cold manner of your meeting this evening."

"Ah, intelligent people are often observant. Tell me, what is your opinion of him? I would not wish to slander him in front of a dear friend of his."

"Oh, please do not stop yourself. I find him very disagreeable, as do most students at Hogwarts who aren't in Slytherin house."

"May I confide in you, then?"

"Certainly." Her words were calm, but she herself was not. She was trembling with curiosity and anticipation.

"My father and Lucius Malfoy used to be very good friends many years ago. We stayed at Malfoy Manor very often and it was always our fathers' intent for us to attend Hogwarts together."

Hermione could not but look surprised. She found her interest of the subject increase, and listened with all her heart.

"Yes, that's right. I was meant to attend Hogwarts, not Durmstrang. However, it soon became evident that competition for entry to Hogwarts was fierce. There was no way for both of us to be accepted. Draco Malfoy sabotaged my application, and I was forced to attend the school in Bulgaria."

"That is quite shocking! He deserves to be publicly disgraced."

"Some time or other he will be, but it shall not be by me. I've decided to be the bigger person and to never defy or expose him. Besides, I am more than happy where I am now. The result of his actions does not displease me, only his intent."

"You are too good, Viktor. I hope his presence will not impact your stay here at Hogwarts."

"Oh no, I will not be driven away by Draco Malfoy. If he wishes to avoid seeing me. He must go."

Their conversation was cut short by Professor Snape announcing that all students must retire to their dormitories.

Viktor bowed and kissed her hand, like Cedric had before the danced, and then took his leave. Hermione now understood why the girls fawned all over him. How could anyone not like him?

Hermione Granger was now the most envied witch in Hogwarts.


	6. Chapter 6

_The Hogwarts Quad the next day._

It was a late September morning, the leaves had started to turn brown and the air carried a slight chill with it. 

She was indulging herself in a book during one of her free periods, although struggling slightly to concentrate. Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum were the cause of this distraction and as much as Hermione tried to rid herself of such thoughts at that present moment, her efforts were to no avail.

"Granger."

She put her book down on top of the second one resting on her lap, and looked around her but couldn't see anyone who might have addressed her. At first she thought Fred and George were playing a prank on her. As she began to sit back down, she was startled by a loud thud as Draco Malfoy jumped down from one of the trees.

"You're supposed to greet me back, Granger."

"What?" Her forehead was pinched together with confusion.

"I just greeted you. The polite thing to do would be to greet me back."

"Why in Godric's name should I try to be polite to you?"

“Still curious to know what it was you said to me exactly?”

Hermione rolled her eyes and exhaled loudly.

“No,” she said defensively, both hands on her hips. It reminded her of her younger self. “You’re the one that keeps bringing it up.”

“Perhaps if you knew what it was, you too would be unable to stop thinking about it.”

Draco’s words startled her slightly. He had been thinking about her? She quickly corrected herself. No, he had been laughing at how much of fool she had made of herself a week and a half ago. That’s what he had been thinking about.

“You’re not tempting me, Malfoy.”

“No?” he asked with a smirk. 

“No,” Hermione repeated firmly. “Now I’ll kindly ask you to leave me alone. You’re disturbing my reading.”

At this, Draco glanced at the book resting on Hermione’s lap. His eyes squinted slightly.

“Why does it look like that?”

“It’s a paperback. It’s a muggle thing,” she replied, standing up, and bending the book in front of him to show him.

“It looks awfully flimsy,” Draco remarked. Strangely, his tone was more emotionlessly declarative than snooty.

“They are. Hardbacks exist in the muggle world too. Like this one,” she said, picking up the second book from the bench. “They’re just more expensive so I had to borrow it from the muggle section in the library.”

“Oh,” was all Draco said.

Hermione could tell from his response that such a thing had never been a concern for him. While not necessarily poor herself, she wasn’t so privileged as to have millions of inherited galleons flowing out of her fingertips. With something she bought as frequently as books, she tried to save wherever she could.

There was an extended silence between them, which had started to grow insufferable. Hermione still had some twenty minutes left of her free period, but she would have left then and there to end the awkwardness.

To her surprise, Draco ended it by asking her another question.

"What were you doing with Krum-bitch yesterday?"

Hermione looked up at him once again, astonished by his presumption.

"Is it any of your business?" she asked.

"Answer the question, Granger."

"You may ask questions which I may choose not to answer," she replied, crossing her arms.

“It concerns me because I have quite the history with that Bulgarian. He shouldn’t even fucking be here, so you will tell me.”

“Because you interfered with him coming to Hogwarts?” said Hermione with a scowl, recalling her conversation with Viktor in the Great Hall. It restored her anger. “I heard all about that, you know.”

“What the fuck are you on about?” Draco spat, his grey eyes aflame.

“Oh don’t play that card now, Malfoy, it’s awfully immature. You know exactly what I mean.

Strangely enough, Malfoy looked confused. Angry too, but confused more than anything.

“If you mean that I did everything in my power for him to be excluded from visiting Hogwarts for the Triwizard tournament, then you are correct and I have no shame in denying it.”

Hermione felt as if she could erupt, but made every attempt to calm herself down. She was in control. She would not let him get the best of her.

He paced towards her, fists balling at his side and his jaw tense. Hermione immediately turned her head to the side, unwilling to look him in the face. This, however, opened up her ear to him and he leant forwards.

"Let me rephrase the question, since you have decided not to cooperate," he whispered into her ear, causing a foreign sensation to penetrate the lowest part of her stomach. She could feel his cold breath slicing against her cheek, causing her to almost wince in pain. She hated the effect he had on her.

"Did he or did he not ask you to the ball, Granger?"

She could not quite believe what she had just heard. Draco Malfoy seemed to be in a habit of leaving her gobsmacked these past few days. She moved herself away from him and now made sure to make direct eye contact as she straightened herself up.

"I have absolutely no obligation to tell you the nature of our conversation."

His face was now boiling with anger and his jaw twitched from side to side.

"You will oblige me, Granger."

"I have no reason to and I am not easily coerced," she replied vehemently. "You will receive no such attentions from me."

"Is that a challenge, Granger?" It was more of a demand than a question and it was delivered in a tone entirely void of humour and lightheartedness - as one might expect such a question to be posed.

She laughed. No, she scoffed.

"Congratulations, Malfoy," she sneered. "You have now given me every reason to believe the shocking things Viktor Krum told me about you."

His face boiled with anger. His left eye twitched slightly. His mouth was agape.

"I will fucking kill him," he muttered.

"If you don't mind me saying, Malfoy, that sounds just a little excessive to me, don't you think?" Hermione's tone was entirely mocking and condescending. It infuriated him.

"Excessive? I'll show you fucking excessive." He was muttering again, hardly directing his words to Hermione at all.

"Don't you have a way with words?" she mocked once again. "Now if you have nothing else to bother me with, I'll be taking my leave."

Draco straightened himself up, clicked his neck on both sides and bowed at her. He matched her mockery.

"Always a pleasure, Mudblood," he jeered right back at her.

Hermione gulped slightly and reached for her book, trying to convince herself that the word no longer affected her. But it did. It sliced through her as it always did.

But she wasn't going to bleed right in front of him.

And so she mentally stitched herself up, relaxed her shoulders and curled her lips up into a smile.

"Always so creative, Staleblood," she replied and excused herself with an equally mocking curtsy.

Her ponytail swung from side to side as she walked out of the courtyard.

~

_A few moments later in a West Wing corridor._

Hermione kept her head lowered as she sped down the corridor, making every attempt to get far, far away from that foul Slytherin who somehow managed to haunt her every step. The last thing she wanted in that moment was to accidentally bump into Ronald Weasley.

"Ah, Hermione, just who I was looking for."

"I'm sorry, Ron, but I really don't have time for this right now."

"It's important, Hermione, so make time for it."

Hermione was in no mood to argue after the previous events - which were still so confusing to her - and she knew it was wisest to get whatever he had to say over as soon as possible and so she followed Ron into an empty classroom.

"Almost as soon as McGonagoll announced the Yule Ball, I singled you out as my companion. My reasons for choosing you are, first, that I think it a right thing for every honourable man like myself. Secondly, I am convinced it will add very greatly to my happiness; and thirdly - my mother just wrote to encourage me to choose a partner that she would approve of. I was going to choose Padma up until that condition my mother gave me. How could my mother approve of a girl who let me hit it after the first date? Laughable honestly, how some girls have no respect for themselves. You're quite the opposite though, of course: so untouched. But please don't be jealous of Padma. Merlin, I shouldn't have mentioned her. I promise I will be completely silent about her when we go to the ball together."

It was absolutely necessary to interrupt him now.

"You are too hasty, Ron. You forget that I have made no answer. You have made your proposal entirely impossible for me to accept."

Ron was quite visibly taken aback, having been absolutely certain he would've been accepted. This was, however, only very short-lived as he quickly regained his confidence and began to recommend his suit once again.

"I am by no means discouraged by your words, Hermione. I know it is usual among respectable young ladies to reject the man they secretly mean to accept. Something Padma never did, of course."

"Upon Merlin's word Ron, I am perfectly serious in my refusal. You could not make me happy, and I am convinced that I am the last woman in the world who would make you so. My feelings forbid it in every respect. How you assumed I'd be complimented by your vile and entirely misogynistic description of my dear friend, I don't know. Now if you don't mind, I'll be leaving."

"You're being completely hysterical, what I said about Padma was a joke. Get a grip, Granger. You're making a great mistake by rejecting me. No one else is realistically going to be asking you to the ball, you do realise. You're decent looking, but not exactly attractive. While your blood status doesn't bother me, it does bother a lot of other people. Anyways, my point is that I was condescending to be asking you, something I don't believe many other people are generous enough to do. And now I discover that you're just a prude who enjoys leading men on."

Hermione was by this point so consumed with rage that she could hardly be civil any longer.

"Funny how if a woman sleeps with you, she's a slut and if she does not, she's a prude. Before you take the liberty of calling me hysterical, I'd assess your own coherence, you ginger cunt."

She made a quick exit from the room, absolutely exhausted from the day's events - and it was only ten o'clock! Had Merlin planned for her to argue with every male in the castle?

Hermione Granger was many things, but she most certainly was not weak. As much as she desired to go to her dorm and sleep this dreadful day away, she hurried along to her next lesson, determined not to let two arrogant pricks hinder her learning. 

The incident with Ron was so unbelievable that she could hardly tell if it had actually happened or if she had simply dreamt it. She'd never actually called anyone a cunt before and she felt something close to liberation.

But that was nothing in comparison to whatever went down with Malfoy. Why did he care so much about what Viktor was talking to her about? But more importantly, why did she feel completely overpowered by him in his presence? Whatever it was, she did not like it and made a pact with herself to stay as far away from that cold-blooded blond as possible.

Merlin eating a gherkin, that was going to be hard.

~

She had just made it outside the Transfigurations classroom, when she felt someone tap her on the back of her shoulder. She immediately swung herself around and almost screamed when she saw it was Cedric. 

"What do you want?" She almost growled. She realised it was an unfair response, but she had had it up to her brow with the morning's events. If another boy tried to piss her off, she would have ripped her hair out then and there.

"Oh, sorry to startle you there, Hermione," he said nervously, his leg twitching slightly and he failed to meet her eye. "I'm sorry I haven't made myself forward after the September Formal. I was a little to shy and after what happened with Malfoy, I was a little scared to."

Hermione could see the faintest mark underneath Cedric's eye. Had he hurt him?

"Did he do something to you?" She blurted out and Cedric was a little taken aback.

"Oh no, he didn't hurt me, not physically at least. That is - he didn't put his hands on me," he mumbled, much to Hermione's relief.

He was then silent for a second and Hermione, already frustrated, grew rapidly more impatient.

"Did you have something to tell me? Because if so hurry up or I'll be late."

"Oh, I did have something but - never mind, Hermione. I deeply apologise for having wasted your time."

Cheeks red with rage, she scowled at him and ran into the classroom. Cedric watched her with a look of dejection as she stormed away from him, confused by her behaviour. Had he done something wrong? Perhaps she was angry that he hadn't spoken to her after the formal. He was so ashamed of himself - how had he let his timid nature get the best of him? Now Hermione would surely never speak to him again, and he decided it was best not to bother her again, as much as it pained him.

For the rest of the week, his lips did not curve upwards once.

Hermione did not manage to pay attention for longer than a few minutes at a time during Transfigurations. Her thoughts couldn't help but be tormented by the three little incidents, as she euphemistically decided to call them. It reminded her excessively of a muggle film she had watched a long time ago in which the protagonist complained that too many people were kissing her. She didn't understand it at the time, secretly wishing she had that problem. While their situations were similar, none of these three boys actually wanted her. Cedric maybe, but he hardly knew her and had disappeared after the formal, so that hardly counted. Ron was only asking her because he knew his mum would approve. Again, didn't actually want her. And Malfoy - well he just wanted to ruin her.

"Miss Granger, are you even paying attention?" McGonagall asked, abruptly pulling her out of the slippery-slope of her thought. "What did I just say to the class?"

Hermione froze. Come on, think. 

"You were saying that we will be transforming animals into water goblets via the Vera Verto spell. You then went on to say that we will be practising on rodents in this lesson."

McGonagall eyed her suspiciously, but Hermione could see a faint smile on her lips. She had clearly pleased her, but not enough to earn her house any points.

"Excellent, Miss Granger, you have evaded a detention for yourself. But don't become complacent now; I require your full attention for the remainder of the lesson."

Hermione made sure not to lift her gaze off the Professor for the remaining hour of the lesson, but her thoughts did continue to wander.


	7. Chapter 7

It was a bitter Sunday morning and Hermione was enjoying a ridiculously early walk in the Hogwarts grounds. She had a book in her arms, as per usual, and was taking in the sublime scenery that surrounded her. It seemed that her only solace could be found in nature and pages of size 12 font. Only here could she escape from the stresses of everyday life.

Or so she thought. 

Just as she was about to sit down in the perfect spot and begin reading, she heard a rustling of leaves behind her, something like quick footsteps or...

... or Viktor Krum jogging in a white wife beater and grey joggers. The man made it very hard for a woman not to fall in love with him. As soon as he saw Hermione, he immediately ran over to her.

"Miss Granger, what a pleasure it is to see you again."

They'd had a few conversations since when they first met that evening and found him to be increasingly agreeable. Now this was a respectable man, unlike that pure-blood phallus. 

Merlin, why was he on her mind when such a fine gentleman was before her? Had she no self control? 

"Up early for a run, I see?"

"Up early for a read?"

"Looks like I've been caught," she joked.

"I like that about you - your intellect."

Igor Karkaroff.

"Krum, what are you doing? Distracted by a girl, when you're supposed to be running? Never let me see such a thing again. How are you to win the Triwizard tournament if you're slacking off at every opportunity? Remember what you're doing this for. You need to bring eternal glory not only to yourself, but to the institution of Durmstrang itself. You will be nobody if you let us down."

Krum gave Hermione a quick apologetic look and continued on his run as Karkaroff followed behind him after giving Hermione a malicious glare. 

Was he about to ask her to the ball? Surely not. Although she really had let herself hope for a moment that he might. He was incredibly attentive to her, had dashing good looks and, as much as she tried to deny it, she enjoyed being singled out by someone whom every other girl desired. 

She decided to head back to the castle as she could hardly focus on her book now. All the other girls were asleep when she got back to her dormitory, so she decided to go sit in the common room for a little while and enjoy a nice hot tea to calm her down. 

To her utmost surprise, she found Luna lying fast asleep on one of the sofas. What in Merlin's name was Luna doing sleeping here? 

She must have made a sound because Luna woke up with a jolt. When she saw Hermione's face, her eyes began to swell, as if she were about to cry.

"Luna, what on Earth are you doing here?"

"Please don't hate me, Mione. It's just that, well, the Ravenclaws have kicked me out for good. They say I spend too much time with the Gryffindors so I might as well become one."

"Oh, Luna I could never hate you. I am so sorry about what they've done to you but just know that you're always welcome here. We all-"

"That's not even all of it though, I'm afraid," Luna sniffled. Hermione had never seen her friend in such a state and the sight of it worried her tremendously. "I was convinced that Blaise would ask me to the ball. Everyone was confirming the idea. Oh, Mione, I've been most dreadfully deceived."

"Oh Luna, don't worry about that. He has plenty of time left to ask you."

"No, Mione, you don't understand. He isn't speaking to me at all. Not since the lake incident. He won't even meet my eye. What am I to do?"

Hermione felt terribly guilty. These past few days had been so full of strange events that she hadn't even noticed her friend's misfortunes. She immediately pulled Luna in for a hug, trying in every possible way to comfort her.

"Luna, I was so convinced in him liking you. Hell - I even thought he was very much in the process of falling in love with you. I saw the way he looked at you when you were together. Whatever is going on must be a terrible mistake. If everything's not back to normal and he's not asked you to the ball within two weeks, I should be very much surprised."

"I wouldn't be so optimistic."

"Alright, let's say that is the case - which it isn't of course - but for argument's sake, he has somehow stopped caring for you. You are the most beautiful and kind girl in the whole of Hogwarts and he's a fool to lose you. But there are plenty of other fish in the sea. Everyone drools at the sight of you, girls included! You will have a multitude of people fighting over having the great honour of being your date to the Yule ball."

"But, Mione, I do quite simply prefer him to any other wizard in existence. I could not go to the ball with anybody else. Oh, but there is nothing to be done. May he live in my memory as the most amiable man of my acquaintance. I suppose I shall have to be content with that small chance of happiness I was so generously given."

Hermione soon realised that there was nothing that could console her dear friend, and so she decided to try and support her as best she could without giving her any false hope of Blaise's return to her life.


	8. Chapter 8

_A few days later in the Gryffindor common room after lessons._

"Merlin on a stick, have you heard about Ron?" Parvati asked them all, after sitting down to enjoy a hot chocolate she had just conjured. "He's asked Lavender Brown to the ball."

"Lavender Brown?" Ginny asked. "My brother has asked that insupportable little social climber to the ball?"

"It doesn't end there," Parvati continued, relishing the joy of a good early evening gossip. "They're not just Yule ball dates. They're actually dating."

Right at that moment, Lavender and Ron walked into the common room, hand in hand. As soon as Ron saw Hermione, he grabbed Lavender and began to snog her so aggressively that it was impossible not to look.

"Hiya there, girlies!" Lavender smiled smugly as they made their way towards the boys' dormitory.

Padma looked quite visibly disheartened and pulled her knees into her chest. Luna immediately went over and sat next to her, trying to draw her attention away from the vile scene that was happening just two metres away from her.

Even after her own heartbreak, Luna was always putting her friends' concerns before her own.

"Are you not bothered slightly, Hermione?" Padma whispered as her mouth twitched slightly. "After what he said the other week?"

Hermione was not one to keep secrets from her friends and so naturally she had informed them all of the incident with Ron. 

"I am bothered by nothing more than the graphic scene I have just been forced to witness." 

"You don't feel slightly, um, jealous?"

"Padma, I never had feelings for him, although I know that you did. He has treated you in a most abominable manner, so don't be ashamed of your feelings right now, okay? You have every right to be jealous, to resent him and ultimately, to move on."

"I just wish I could have been enough for him. For anyone, really."

"You're not seriously going to let that ginger cunt - sorry Ginny - make you question your self worth, are you? Your self worth is not contingent on his treatment of you. Never forget that."

The other girls all added equally powerful messages in attempt to restore Padma's good mood, eventually managing to get a smile out of her.

"I heard another quite equally shocking piece of news," Parvati started after a few moments of consideration. "I'm afraid the news might shock you slightly, Hermione."

Hermione was slightly startled but curious to hear her news.

"Viktor Krum has asked Fleur Delacour to the ball."

Hermione's face dropped a little but for some strange reason, she wasn't entirely surprised.

As much as she had enjoyed Viktor's attentions to her, she knew how out of her league he was. Although she couldn't deny that their early morning encounter had raised her hopes a little.

"I'm a little shocked, I confess," is all Hermione allowed herself to say. 

"Hermione, it's alright. You can confide in us, you know. We're not going to judge you for your feelings," said Luna.

"I'd begun to take an interest in him is all. I've clearly misinterpreted his attentions to me. It's unfortunate but I'm by no means heartbroken. He's a respectable man and she's a respectable woman. They work much better, I think."

"Again, Hermione, I hate to say it but there's more," Parvati continued. "This may just be a silly little rumour, but it's been revealed that Viktor Krum is not just here to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. Ever since he came of age, he's been in search of a wife."

Hermione was now very much taken aback and could hardly process what she had just learned. Was that what all the comments about her intelligence were about? And when he was about to ask her something that morning, could it have been more than just an invitation to the ball?

"People are saying that he's only after her because he's found out she's quarter-Veela and so he ditched you and your intelligence in pursuit of her."

"I hate to say, Mione, but it makes sense. I mean, Veela were the mascots for the Bulgarian National Quidditch team during the World Cup. It's clearly of some importance to him," Ginny concluded. "Terribly superficial on his behalf."

"All I can say to you girls is that I am so relieved I managed to somehow dodge being actually proposed to, however agreeable the potential groom."

General incivility, at that moment in time, did not appear to be the very essence of love. It seemed that those days were full of the farmer and entirely void of the latter. Perhaps the books had got it wrong.

~

In the days and weeks that followed, Hermione seemed to bump into Draco Malfoy more than she had ever done before. Some rather sadistic work on fate’s behalf, she imagined.

Every time, without fault, he would ask her if she was still curious to discover what she had said to him at the formal.

Every time, without fault, she would deny her being so.

These were short interactions, that ended soon after, often with Draco shaking his head at her and taking his leave. Or the conversations might occur as they passed each other in a corridor, in which case the duration would be even shorter.

Hermione knew well enough that he was simply teasing her, as he had been doing for years. She probably hadn’t said anything of significance at all. She wasn’t going to let him get the best of her.

Sometimes, when a day or two went by without their meeting, Hermione felt a strange emptiness. As if something so fundamental to her daily routine had been omitted. As if she had skipped a meal. 

That was entirely her fault of course: for being so ridiculously obsessed with schedules and order.

On many occasions, Hermione had even considered performing legilimency on him to extract the memory once and for all. But of course, this idea was preposterous. Not only would she be breaking school rules, but she would be violating Draco’s mind.

She grew ashamed that such a thought had even occurred to her.


	9. Chapter 9

Hermione was just leaving the library after a late night study session. It hadn't been as productive as she might have hoped, due to some rather inconvenient and distracting thoughts, but on the whole she was satisfied with her overall performance.

Her already sore arms were carrying some books. Finally, she could get back to her dorm and get some well deserved rest.

As she tiptoed down one of the corridors, afraid she might bump into Peeves or Filch, she saw a figure in the distance. That's it. She's been caught. Perhaps they hadn't seen her. She could still try to get away.

Hermione spun around on her heel and prepared to sprint in the opposite direction when she felt a hand grasp her shoulder.

"Granger?"

She knew that voice. She had been hearing it taunt her for the past few weeks. It seemed a little altered though - less clear and pulled together.

"Malfoy? What are you doing here by yourself?"

He smiled lazily at her.

"I could ask the same about you," he replied slowly.

"What's wrong with you?" she snapped quickly, inspecting him suspiciously. She noticed he could barely stand. "Merlin, are you drunk, Malfoy?"

"No, Granger, I'm fresh as a daisy." He swayed slightly as he spoke.

"You look about as smashed as the Bloody Baron, Malfoy. What were you doing drinking on a school night?"

"Scolding me, Granger?" he slurred. "We threw a party for Blaise in the common room."

"And yet you're here?" she asked, raising a brow. "In a corridor near the library."

"Something wrong with that?"

"Actually Malfoy, you'd be surprised for me to tell you just _how_ wrong that is. I can hardly begin to list the number of school rules you're breaking," Hermione replied with her arms crossed.

"Wouldn't be as fun if I weren't breaking so many rules."

Hermione glared at him.

"Although I suppose there's one benefit. Now _I_ can taunt you about saying something embarrassing whilst under the influence."

"That's still on your mind, I see."

"Well how can it not, with you bringing it up almost everyday?" said Hermione with crossed arms.

"Sure you don't want to know what you said?

"Malfoy-"

"Nothing," he said.

"What?" she asked, visibly confused.

"You said nothing at all," he continued. "I made it up to piss you off, Granger."

Hermione's face fell completely. How could she have fallen for it so easily? She grew entirely infuriated and felt as if she might explode.

"And here I was, actually willing to help you sober up," she said with a scowl. "I shouldn't have expected much better from you, Malfoy. Now if you don't mind, I'll be returning back to my dorm. It's late and I'm tired."

She began to move and was once again stopped by a hand gripping her arm.

"What if I do mind?" he asked.

"What?" she gasped, astounded.

"What if I do mind you leaving me here in this corridor drunk and alone?"

She had now grown both exasperated and exhausted with his behaviour, managing only to respond with:

"What do you want from me?"

_You wouldn't want to know the vile things I dream about doing to you._

"Dance with me, Granger." It was a statement, not a question.

"What." Also a statement and not a question.

"You heard me."

Hermione could feel herself flushing and her breath quickening.

"Go back to your party, Malfoy. I'm sure the Slytherins will be wondering where you've gone."

"I never tend to stay at parties for their full duration."

Thinking about it then, she recalled how she had never seen Draco Malfoy at a Hogwarts formal for longer than the first two or three dances.

Draco extended out his hand, his bloodshot eyes remaining fixed on Hermione's as she kept trying to persuade herself not to accept it. He didn't care to dance with her - he had said so on the night of the formal. He was drunk and reckless. He was teasing her.

Her reluctance seemed not to faze him in the slightest. He simply shrugged and reached out to tug her in by the waist, then trailing his fingers to the small of her back. He pressed the palm of his other hand flat against hers, still maintaining eye contact. Aside for the occasional drunk sway, his movements were of the most practiced efficacy. The wizard knew how to dance. Very well.

"Dancing becomes insufferable once I've exhausted the list of witches I can tolerate dancing with," he said, continuing the conversation they had momentarily paused.

They were now moving around one another, eyes still locked.

"I would have thought the length of that list would encourage you to stay longer at these parties," Hermione replied, eying him quizzically.

The dance then required them to change direction of their movements, which they both executed flawlessly.

"That list is very short," he replied gruffly. The dance then brought them side by side, facing opposite directions, so that Draco's mouth was at her ear. "It has only very recently been added to."

Hermione could not help but feel slightly flustered. He was talking about her, right?

"If I heard you correctly the night of the formal, you said no one in their right mind would stand up in front of everyone and dance with me. Why the sudden change of opinion, Malfoy?"

Draco snorted.

"There's no change of opinion, Granger, don't get ahead of yourself," he said with a mocking tone that made Hermione fill with humiliation. "You know that I relish in the prospect of destroying you."

She did know. She knew it all along. And yet she stayed and let him get the best of her.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not move her eyes from his. He had locked her in. She hated him and tried everything she could to resist him, but somehow couldn't help the puddle she became at his slightest touch.

A few moments passed where neither said a word. Out of deeply rooted hatred for him, she first thought it better not to break the silence but, in allowing her mind to wander, she soon concluded that it would be a greater punishment if she tried to dig out a topic of conversation she was most curious about.

"I remember hearing you once say, Malfoy, that you hardly ever forgave. That your good opinion once lost was lost forever. You are very cautious, I suppose, as to allowing for that to happen."

"I am," he said, with a firm voice and furrowed brow.

"And never allow yourself to be blinded by prejudice?"

"I hope not."

"Strange. I would have thought it particularly incumbent on those who never change their opinion to be secure of judging properly at first."

They stretched out their hands to an almost touch as they paced around each other.

"What are you playing at with these questions?" asked Draco, almost angrily.

"I am merely trying to make out your character," she shrugged.

"Do not try to sketch my character. The performance would not reflect credit on either of us. I'm drunk and you're delirious."

"I'm hardly delirious, I only said I was slightly tired," she growled. "And given a certain new acquaintance of mine, I fear I am forced to make an attempt at figuring you out. Of course you make that nearly impossible."

"Which new acquaintance do you mean?" he asked hesitantly, almost anxiously, if Draco Malfoy could ever express such an emotion.

"Viktor Krum."

And with that, he threw her off him, his eyes aflame and his teeth were grinding against each other.

"Never mention him near me again," he spat, and began to walk away from her, conjuring a bottle of Ogden's and taking a long swig.

He then turned around to face her.

"It's past midnight, isn't it?"

"Uh, yes. Yes it is," she replied, almost choking on her words. It was well past midnight.

"Right. Well happy fucking birthday then, Granger."

And then he walked away.

~

_Potions the next day._

"Since you were all so rowdy and undisciplined last lesson, today there is going to be a change of seating plan," said Professor Snape. "You will all be sitting next to a person of a different house. This will be stuck to rigorously for the rest of the academic year. Any student caught sitting where they shouldn't be shall be given detention."

There was a unanimous groan from the class.

"Longbottom next to Nott in the middle centre ... Malfoy next to Lovegood in the back right ... Granger next to Parkinson in the middle right..."

Hermione gave her now ex Potions partner, Harry, a sad look as she picked up her books and moved from the front centre of the classroom to the middle right. Just her luck to be paired with the second worst person in the room. At least Snape hadn't put her next to Malfoy.

No, he'd put Malfoy next to Luna. She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. She knew Luna would never do anything with Malfoy, and it wasn't so much her. She was immediately envious of any girl that Malfoy paid attention to and she couldn't quite figure out why. She loathed him, didn't she?

What annoyed her even more was the fact that he appeared perfectly well that morning, as if his drunkenness last night had never occurred. It must have been the work of multiple hangover potions, she thought.

"I heard about Krum," Pansy smiled venomously. "Did he finally realise what a tiresome little freak you are?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Viktor and I were - and still are - just friends."

"I think you're just trying to shrug off your humiliating rejection. Quite laughable, honestly. All for a prissy little Beauxbaton, too."

"Fleur Delacour is a lovely girl, from what I've heard."

Pansy ignored her comment and continued her little jeer.

"One couldn't really expect much else given his, you know, decent."

"You mean the fact he is Bulgarian?" Hermione said with some disgust.

"Well, that, but he is also quite a vile creature. Draco has told me as much."

She eyed Hermione suspiciously as she mentioned Malfoy's name.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Well I don't know the exact details, but I believe Draco. I always believe Draco," she said as she turned around to look at Malfoy who was staring down at his desk.

As she began to turn back around to face the front, Professor Snape smacked the back of her head with a rolled up piece of parchment.

"Pay attention, Miss Parkinson. One more more shenanigan and it will be detention," he said sternly and walked back to the front of the classroom.

"Slithering Salazar, doesn't that man just make you want to suck every last inch of him?"

Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or scream in disgust. She and Luna made eye contact, both pulling a horrified face.

"Shocking as it may seem, Pansy, I'd have to say no," said Theo, who had been eavesdropping on their conversation. "But if you said Minerva McGonagall, that would be a whole other question. I mean, have you seen the size of her knockers? They may be down to her hips but, blimey, she is one busty woman."

"Seems like someone has a severe case of gerontophilia. You really ought to get that checked out, Theo."

"How dare you suggest that she is an elderly woman? She's mature, not old."

"Her grey, wrinkled prune of cunt says something quite different," said Draco. He too had been eavesdropping, immediately making Hermione wonder for how long.

"You take quite an interest in that woman's genitals. Do you have anything you wish to tell me, Draco?" Theo mocked.

"Yeah, I fucked your dead mum."

Hermione winced at his harsh comment but Theodore was hardly shaken.

"Love a bit of casual necrophilia. I'm sure you wouldn't mind if I raw dog Cissy then?"

"Only if I get to peg Lucius," added Pansy.

"You know what, you two? You can fuck right off to Diagon Alley and back."

"What, will your father be hearing about this?" Theo mocked.

Draco shot him a cold glare. He could tolerate some talk about his father but after a little while it became unbearable.

Hermione was getting too distracted by their discussion that she then decided to cast a silencing charm on them to help her concentrate on what Snape was teaching. In retrospect, she realised she probably saved them from a detention.

"Amortentia is an incredibly powerful and highly dangerous potion. Many people underestimate just how dangerous a powerful obsession for a person can be. So of course, nobody will be drinking it. One at a time, you will come to the front and waft the vapour towards your nose," Professor Snape said as he demonstrated the action.

Hermione wondered what he could have smelled. For a moment she thought she spotted his facial muscles relaxing and a tender expression come across him but it was so quick that she could have imagined it.

"Can anyone think what, other than its danger, may be a potential catch to this potion?"

Hermione's hand shot up.

"It cannot replicate true love; it only causes intense infatuation."

"Correct, five points to Gryffindor," Snape said reluctantly as some of the Slytherins snarled. "Miss Weasley, you'll be first."

She wondered what Ginny would smell. She had danced with Neville at the formal, so perhaps it would be something to do with herbology?

"Butter beer, crocheted scarves and ink-stained parchment."

Not quite what she was expecting. It didn't sound like Neville at all.

Without daring to turn around and embarrass Luna, she could almost hear the little blonde's heart pounding as Blaise walked up to the front of the classroom.

"Satin pillowcases, little meringues and blooming orchids.'

An unmissable tone of sorrow tainted what would've been beautifully poetic words. Hermione turned around and squeezed Luna's hand in reassurance. She was convinced Blaise still loved her. What was holding him back?

A few other students went up to the cauldron and then it was Pansy's turn.

"Cigarette smoke, freshly brewed black coffee and something vaguely metallic."

Hermione thought her description to be quite strange. She expected it to scream 'Draco Malfoy' and while it did kind of resemble him, it felt a little off. She understood the 'vaguely metallic' part, but he hated coffee. He did have a smokey scent, but it leaned more towards burnt oak than tobacco. Did he even smoke? If he did, he never smelt like it.

Then Malfoy was up.

"Milk skin, armpit hair and birdshit."

"Language, Malfoy! Detention tomorrow after school."

Unfazed, Malfoy returned to his seat, forcing eye contact with Hermione the whole time. She wanted to slap the smug look off his annoyingly handsome face. No, not handsome. Horrendous. That's what she had meant.

"Well, that's the hour done. I'm afraid some of you didn't get time to have a go. If you would particularly wish to, you may do so tomorrow after school. Class dismissed."

Hermione was relieved that she had missed her go and would most certainly not be catching up on it during Malfoy's detention.

"What did you actually smell, Malfoy?" Asked Pansy, batting her eyelashes.

"Couldn't smell anything," he lied.

"You mean to say that you engaged in sexual acts with my mother without even loving her?" Theo mocked. "You cold-hearted little fucktard."


	10. Chapter 10

_Gryffindor common room after dinner that evening._

Hermione was sitting in her usual spot by the fireplace, nose-deep in the latest book she had borrowed from the library.

No one else was in the common room, which seemed a little strange. She wasn't quite sure where they had all run off to after dinner.

She was just turning to the next page of her book as the door burst open.

All her fellow Gryffindors sang happy birthday to her as she shielded her face in embarrassment. She hated being the centre of attention but she was truly touched by the gesture.

Harry was holding a beautiful red velvet cake that had floating candles with red and gold flames.

“Don’t worry I made sure there wasn’t any gelatin or...” Harry searched for the correct word. “... meat stuff in it. Not that I think there normally is in red velvet cake. Couldn’t be too sure.”

Hermione expressed her gratitude warmly to her spectacled friend.

"Thank you, you lot. You really didn't have to. This is too much."

"Oh, just blow the candles out already, you numpty," said Fred with a smile. "I can't resist that cake much longer."

Hermione smiled back and blew out the candles, which immediately vanished. The cake then cut itself into enough pieces for them all to enjoy and they began flying about the room. Hermione just managed to jump up and catch a piece.

"I can't believe this is one of our last new nights together before Autumn break," said Neville. "I'm going to miss you lot."

"It's only for two weeks, Neville, I'm sure you'll survive," said Padma.

"Oh, Mione, that reminds me," said Harry. "I remember you saying that you would be staying at Hogwarts for the break and I was just wondering if you'd like to come and stay at Tonks and Remus' with me? I know you're good friends with both of them and they asked if I wanted to bring a friend with me."

Hermione hadn't told them the true reason why she had been planning on staying at Hogwarts during the holidays. She told them it was to catch up on some extra work, not because she feared putting her parents in danger.

"Oh I've missed Tonks!" Exclaimed Hermione. "And Lupin too. Oh, Harry, I'd love to come."

"Great," Harry smiled, looking relieved. "I'll let them know."

As soon as Harry walked away, Fred and George ran over to her.

"Happy Birthday, Hermione," they said in unison.

"We've got a little something for you," said George.

Hermione looked a little hesitant.

"Don't worry, it's not going to cover you in slime like last year," said Fred.

"Or turn you into a chicken like the year before," said George, giving Fred a high five.

"Well, what is it then?"

Fred handed her a gold ring that had a black stone inside it. She accepted it rather suspiciously.

"It's not going to make me shrink or disappear or float if I put it on, is it?"

"No, who do you think we are, Hermione? World-class pranksters?" Fred joked.

"You put the ring on and it gives you what you most need in that moment," said George. "But use it wisely because it only has one use."

“Well at least that’s what we think. I’m pretty sure that’s what the man said before we stole it off him,” said Fred

“What?” Hermione looked bewildered.

“Only joking,” Fred smiled.

She looked at it, a little confused but hugely grateful for the gesture. She thanked them and they gave each other a quick nod before disappearing out of the common room.

The rest of the night ended up becoming some sort of birthday party. Somebody had provided butterbeers and firewhiskey but she knew better than to drink either of those on a school night, especially after the September formal. She couldn't believe that had taken place only a month a go. It felt like more than a year.

Ron was the only person who hadn't wished Hermione a happy birthday. He had been much too busy snogging Lavender in the corner of the room. That couple really couldn't spend more than a minute together without having their tongues down each other's throats.

"Mione, Mione!" Padma exclaimed as she ran up to her. "Neville's just asked me to the ball!"

"Oh, Padma, that's amazing. I am so happy for you. And to think you're the second Yule ball couple! And, much better than the first, might I add."

She really hoped this would finally help her to get over Ron and his treatment of her.

Padma smiled.

"Typical Neville to be so keen and ask a girl almost two months in advance! I guess that's why I smelled fresh rosemary, mulled wine and sea anemone during Potions this morning. It confused me at first, but now it makes perfect sense."

"It also makes what he smelled a lot clearer. Maybe that's what gave him the courage to finally ask you."

"Or the seven butterbeers he's been dared to down," she chuckled, looking over at Neville who was stumbling around the room. "And by the looks of it, I ought to go look after him."

Two Gryffindor Yule Ball couples already confirmed with the ball two months away.

"Hey, Hermione, I'm making a pumpkin juice - firewhiskey mix. Can't really handle the stuff on its own. Do you want any?"

"No thanks, Ginny, not after last time."

"Come on, that happened over a month ago, you weakling. When people say they're never drinking again, they don't actually mean it," Ginny laughed.

"Remember to say no to peer pressure, Mione," Luna interjected. "Ooh and Ginny please may I have that butterbeer cork once you're done?"

Ginny handed it to her immediately, slightly confused.

"Did you hear about Padma and Neville?" Hermione asked, curious to see what her friend thought. She was quite certain she didn't fancy Neville, especially after this morning, but she wanted to be quite sure.

"Oh, yes, I did! Isn't it exciting?"

Hermione began to reply when Seamous shouted across the room:

"Everybody get ready, it's about to happen."

"What? What's about to happen?" Hermione asked, slightly confused.

"Just wait and see," he replied.

Just as the clock struck ten, the sky was illuminated with bursts of red and gold. The fireworks covered every inch of the sky and their explosions bellowed across the castle.

"Let's go down and watch them properly," someone shouted and immediately everyone charged out of the common room and out of the closest exit, determined not to miss too much of the display.

Fred, George and Harry were already there they got down. They smiled over at Hermione and pointed to the sky which now had 'Happy Birthday Hermione' painted over it.

Her eyes began to tear up and she ran over and gave them all a tight embrace.

"Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. You've made this birthday unforgettable."

It was a sweet little moment, one she would remember until old age: how tightly they all held on to one another as the luminous sparks scattered around them.

~

Hermione hung back a little after the display, assuring them all she'd catch up with them in no time.

She began to walk towards the Great Lake, as if it was calling her, drawing her in like a siren. She slipped off her shoes and gently caressed the surface of the water with her toe, eyeing the outburst of ripples that shook and disintegrated the uncanny reflection of the moon. All because of a small touch.

Once the lake returned to its quiet stillness, as though it had never been disturbed, Hermione picked up her shoes and began to walk back, allowing herself some time to reflect upon the day's events.

Her thoughts must have had some form of magical power because the very object of them was now stood before her, leaning against the stone wall, head thrown back as he took a slow drag of the hand-rolled cigarette resting between his index and middle finger.

Her immediate thought was Pansy's amortentia.

"Are you following me or something?"

"Shoes are designed for the feet, Granger. I know you like to be controversial but holding them in your hands really defeats the purpose," he said as he inhaled the last the cigarette had to offer before crushing it under his foot. This was the second time he had seen her without her shoes, but he chose not to remind her of the formal. It wasn't a good memory for either of them.

“You were quite a mess last night, Malfoy.”

“I suppose we’re even now, Granger.”

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I didn't know you smoked."

"That's because you don't know me."

"I do know you and I know for a fact-"

"You Gryffindors always think you know everything about everyone. Allow me to enlighten you: you don't know the last thing about me."

"I know you lied in Potions today."

He let out a hellish laugh.

"Congratu-fucking-lations, Granger. It really takes some uncommon skill to figure out that the smell of birdshit doesn't turn me on."

"I meant what you said after."

"Why the fuck are you always in everyone's business, you can't last five seconds without bloody-"

It was her turn to interrupt him now.

"You know, when people react to something so defensively, it's normally because they're too scared to admit it."

"Like I said before. Stop pretending you know me," he spat, pulling out another pre-rolled cigarette and a metallic lighter. She stared as the smoke fell from his mouth like tears.

"What?" He hissed. "You want one or something?"

"No, I'm not particularly interested in slowly killing myself."

"Typical dull little Gryffindor." He rolled his eyes as he gently brought the end to his lips.

She was not going to let him win like that.

"Hand one over then."

Draco let out a confused laugh as he pulled a green pouch out of his suit pocket.

"I wonder what the immortal wanker would say if he found out Gryffindor's little princess wasn't as innocent as he thought."

Hermione said nothing, only watched as he placed the filter between his lips while his proficient fingers rolled back and forth. He didn't break eye contact once as he dragged his tongue across the edge of the paper, between its sapphic folds. Her attempts to resist the unsolicited return of that foreign sensation were to no avail.

Their fingers softly grazed each other as he handed his craft over to her. So cold. As if sculpted of ice. And so pale that his shamrock veins seemed almost neon in comparison.

He took out that silver lighter and this time she could see that it was engraved with what she assumed was his family crest. He flicked the lid open and rolled his thumb over the sparkwheel. It was sharp and aggressive but irrefutably seductive.

"Put it in your mouth and suck when I say so."

Hermione did just so.

"You're going to want to feel it all the way down your throat, right to the bottom of your chest."

She gave him a quick nod and scraped her hair away from her face.

He brought the lighter over to her mouth, shielding her from the wind with his free hand. He flicked his thumb once again, the spark responsive to his touch. The end of her cigarette was now penetrating the flame.

"Now take it all in, inhale it right down to your core," he instructed, pressing down on the centre of her chest. She flinched at his touch.

"Good girl, just like that," he said, biting down on his lip as Hermione obeyed him. "Let it fill you entirely."

It burned her, it repulsed her but she felt strangely liberated.

"Now let it all out."

The smoke grazed and scratched as it fought its way out of her throat. She couldn't cough in front of him. She couldn't.

"Do you mind?" He asked as he pulled out his unfinished cigarette from earlier.

She shook her head, half because words were failing her in that moment and half because she was trying at all costs not to cough.

He brought the cigarette to his mouth and lowered himself slightly so he could light the end against hers. A shared blaze. United.

But he pulled himself away as soon as he'd taken some of her flame and walked over to the bank of the lake. Hermione followed and took a seat next to him.

"If you look close enough, you can see me in the sky."

"Draco."

The constellation, not his name. He wished it were his name she was saying. He could let himself pretend.

"Yes, the infamous sky dragon, slain by Hercules."

"Do you ever wonder what it's like up there?"

"I am no philosopher, Granger, but I'd say that it's like here but better up there," he sighed through a stream of exhaled smoke.

"You mean like some perfect parallel universe?"

"I mean that they're long dead."

"That makes no sense."

"They died thousands, millions of years ago. But we can still see them. Here we die and that's just it. We fade into oblivion."

"Is that your greatest fear, then?"

"What - dying or being forgotten?"

"Well, either, really."

"I don't think you're entitled to know my greatest fear."

"Sorry," she mumbled. "That was too invasive on my behalf."

How could she apologise so liberally? How could she be so unknowingly good and moral? It tortured him. He was unaccustomed to such behaviour.

And yet, he felt some kind of embryonic safety around her. He didn't know what that meant. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. But for now, he let it be.

"It's-"

He stopped himself immediately. What was he doing? Where was she leading him? What was happening to him?

He felt immediate discomfort and sprang to his feet, rapidly putting out his half smoked cigarette and mumbling some half-arsed excuse before making his way back to the dungeons.

The girl was dangerous and he knew it. Some intangible power of her's lulled him into a precarious state of false security and the struggle to keep his balance became increasingly taxing.

He'd watched that pathetic little Gryffindor firework display from the Astronomy Tower. He had gone there for some peace and quiet, to indulge himself in cheap solitude, only to be disturbed by that bloodcurdling racket. He saw them all running out into the courtyard, pointing and exclaiming with glee. But more importantly, he saw her. The fucking birthday girl. Hugging the soulless ginger dickheads and the bellend who lived like some attention seeking whore. Why did she waste her time on them? What did they have to offer that was so special?

Quill and parchment in hand, leaning against the wall of the astronomy tower, watching her. Unable to put pen to paper in her presence.

He had fucking danced with the girl. In the middle of the quad. Draco Malfoy didn't dance, at least not with non-Slytherins. What more could she possibly want?

Stupid fucking mudblood cunt.

~

Hermione immediately made her cigarette and Malfoy's two butts vanish because it pained her to corrupt such beautiful scenery with litter.

As she was about to run back to the castle, she realised her feet were still bare and so she quickly slid her shoes back on and started to sprint.

She hardly had time to think, rushing at all costs to get back to the Gryffindor Tower without causing too much suspicion.

But there was one thought she couldn't neglect. And that was what in Godric's name Draco Malfoy was doing. What he was doing to her more specifically. Why had he run away like that? She had assumed it was because she'd touched upon personal territory but she wasn't so sure.

He had started to say something, right? She wasn't imagining it. He was going to answer her question. Unfortunately, Malfoy was anything but easy to read.

Once she had got back to the dorms, pretty much everyone else was already sleeping, except for Luna who was looking out of the window pensively.

"Oh hello there, Hermione."

"Hi, Luna, why aren't you in bed already?"

"I'd ask you the same but I think that might not be a wise question."

Did she know? Surely not.

"Well it's probably time for both of us to go to bed now. Top and tail again?" She asked with a smile.

"Just make sure not to touch me with your wet feet."

Oh Merlin. She knew.


	11. Chapter 11

_Halloween in the Great Hall._

It was the last evening of the first half term and all the Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students were gathered in the Great Hall for a formal dinner. Dozens of carved pumpkins hung from the ceiling and the ghosts were even more merry than usual. Nearly Headless Nick was having a great time telling mediocre jokes to the whole Gryffindor table.

And she was bloody laughing. A fucking ghost was entertaining her.

Draco Malfoy was in no mood for such a foolish and demeaning celebration. Halloween was never celebrated at Malfoy Manor, and with good reason. He thought them all idiots: childish, imprudent and hedonistic.

_Old hardcover books, dried white musk and freshly pressed Oxford shirts._

It was too detailed for her to have made it up, although he hadn't been convinced by what she claimed to have smelled during detention the other day. That description could have covered anyone. He was expecting - hoping - for something a little more, well, specific.

She was the only student to catch up on the practical among the multitude of others who hadn't had a chance to smell the potion. Unsurprising, given her insufferable keenness and deplorable thirst for knowledge.

But he did wonder whether it had anything to do with him. As he scribbled down the lines Snape had given him, he felt the burn of her gaze on him, her shortness of breath when she caught his eye, her shaking leg as she sat down and waited for Snape to finish brewing the potion. It took her a while to leave after she had tested out the Amortentia, as though she was contemplating something. Something entirely unbeknown to him. He would have done anything to use the legilimency spell in that moment, but something Draco Malfoy would have to sooner or later accept was that he couldn't have everything he wanted. And that infuriated him. He wasn't to be trifled with and he would have to make that crystal clear.

"Mate, you're eventually going to have to get over yourself and just fucking enjoy Halloween like the rest of us," said Theo, rapidly pulling Draco out of the slippery slope his thoughts were dragging him down.

"You know I take little pleasure in such vulgar celebrations."

"Merlin, I would not be so fastidious as you are for a kingdom," remarked Blaise, who was delighted with the lighthearted merriness of the dinner.

"Come on, Draco, I know what'll cheer you right up," Pansy purred into his ear.

"I find it hard to believe you should," he replied curtly and returned his attention to the brunette pest that tended to be the prime object of his reflections those days. All entirely critically, of course.

You must be taking the piss.

Viktor fucking Krum was not about to approach his Granger. Absolutely no fucking way.

Yet there he was, confidently striding towards her. Draco dug his fingernails into the palm of his hand as he tried not to hex the shit out of Krumbly cock.

What could he possibly have to say to her? Wasn't he in the midst of courting that bloody Beauxbaton? The fit one, as he liked to call her, making no effort to learn her name. Well if he was going to abandon that blonde, he might as well take the opportunity.

He was speaking to her now and she was - no - she was smiling at him. He literally had the personality of a crumb and she was thoroughly enjoying entertaining him as though she were some sort of shameless harlot.

That was the last straw for Draco Malfoy. If she was going to degrade herself so publicly, then he would have to retaliate. As he said before, he was not to be trifled with.

He jumped up to his feet and went over to the Beauxbatons table, tapped Fleur Delacour on the shoulder and gestured to the right before walking out of the Great Hall, making very sure to walk right past where Granger was sitting and to shove Krumbly-cum in the shoulder as he stormed past. The blonde followed like an excited little puppy.

~

It was a bittersweet last dinner at the Gryffindor table, although Nearly Headless Nick's jokes lightened the mood substantially. They all adored the Halloween festivities at Hogwarts but were saddened by the prospect of leaving the following day.

"I can't wait to see Tonks and Remus again," exclaimed Hermione. "It has been far too long for my liking."

"Only tomorrow we'll be reunited," replied Harry with a beam.

"That you should all empty out this castle makes me terribly melancholy," confessed Nearly Headless Nick. "I shall miss you all very dearly."

The ghost, immediately regretful of his somber remark, decided to crack out a few more jokes. Hermione pretended to laugh, but in reality her thoughts were far less pleasantly occupied.

She didn't know why she had gone. It was only at the very last moment, just as she was about to head back to the Gryffindor Tower, that she found herself striding towards the dungeons. She was drawn to him by some supernatural pull - one she couldn't control or explain.

They say opposites attract.

At first it had been Draco Malfoy that had discouraged her from catching up on the practical, but then she grew ever more afraid of what she might smell. And to have to confess it in front of him...

No. Absolutely not. No way.

So she decided to fabricate a smell in advance and after around half an hour of thought, she had perfected it.

_Old hardcover books, dried white musk and freshly pressed Oxford shirts._

Perfectly inconspicuous. It pretty much summed up every Wizarding student while still being descriptive enough to be believable. She convinced herself, however, that there would be no need to lie. There was no way anything vaguely Slytherin would constitute the odour of her Amortentia.

_Saline tears, burnt mahogany and fresh leather._

She could have screamed, then and there.

Had it not been for Viktor Krum's intrusion, she might have screamed across the hall; even just her recollection of the event made her furious.

"Miss Granger, I wanted to bid you farewell before we part for these two weeks. I understand you are not to remain at Hogwarts?"

"Oh, no, Harry has kindly invited me to stay with some dear friends of ours."

"I see, I wish you all the best for your travels and time there."

"You are too kind."

Hermione had intended the conversation to end there but Viktor Krum seemed intent on continuing it.

"I remember us bonding over a particular dislike of a certain gentleman."

"Correct. What do you mean by mentioning it now?"

"Oh, I just wanted to confirm that this was still the case. I have reason to believe-"

He was cut short by Malfoy's abrupt strides across the hall. Hermione's eyes widened as she watched him, at first with the idea that he was coming towards the Gryffindor table, only to be left with a pit in her stomach as he went over to the Beauxbatons. She didn't care of course, he could do whatever he wanted. It was of no regard to her. But Merlin did she want to slap him right across the face.

Of course it was the same blonde he had stared at - winked at - when the two Wizarding schools had first made their entrance. It just had to be her.

But how insupportable his mannerism was! He went over to the girl and gestured her to follow him and she complied! Had either of them any honour? She wanted to chase after him, tear him away from that girl and hex some decency into him.

But Draco Malfoy was not her responsibility.

And so, she watched him walk out of the Great Hall with that girl as jealousy and fury consumed her - body and soul.


	12. Chapter 12

The next day's journey had gone by smoothly and Hermione was in many ways thrilled to finally get a break from all that had gone on that half term. 

In no time, the Hogwarts Express had arrived King's Cross, where Harry and Hermione were warmly greeted by Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin. 

The two students ran up to the pair and gave them tight hugs. Tonks' belly presses against her in an unusual way as Hermione hugged her, which confused her slightly.

"Oh how I've missed you two," exclaimed Nymphadora, as she clapped her hands together.

"We both have," smiled Lupin.

"And before you ask, we have some very special news to share with you," she beamed, grasping Lupin's hand as she rubbed her free hand over her stomach. "We have a baby on the way."

Hermione let out a wild squeal and immediately pulled her friend back into her arms, and Harry was equally congratulatory. 

"Congratulations, that's wonderful news! I am so excited for you to be starting this new chapter of your life."

It didn't take them long to reach their house in the countryside thanks to the convenience of apparition.

Tonks showed them to their rooms, which were adjacent to one another, allowing them time to settle in.

"We'll give you a tour of the nearby area once you're done unpacking and taking a moment to rest after your long journey."

It only took Hermione a few minutes to unpack, leaving her plenty of time to help her comparatively slower friend with his task. 

"Harry, it's really not that hard to fold your clothes, you know," Hermione rolled her eyes as she and her friend began unloading his trunk.

"But it's such a useless effort. Why should I fold my clothes only to have to unfold them again?"

"I don't know, Harry, maybe to avoid creases?"

"Well. you can just get rid of any creases with a quick tap of the wand."

"Merlin, you're stubborn."

"Hermione Granger calling me stubborn? What world are we living in? Did someone just forget to tell me it was Opposite Day today?"

"Well, it wouldn't be Opposite Day today if someone said it was, now would it?" She smirked.

Harry whacked her with the pair of trousers he had just pulled out of his trunk.

"Um, excuse me!" She scoffed as she hit him back with a red and white sock. "Oh, Harry, your socks are all over the place! How on Earth do you find matching pairs?"

"Well, Ron introduced me to the wonderfully easy world of odd socks and it's never been the same for me since, really."

She rolled her eyes and looked out of the window, admiring the picturesque view of the gentle, rolling hills and the dainty river that meandered between them.

"This place is breathtaking," she remarked.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Look at those little cottages over there," she pointed. "And that adorable little bridge. It feels like we're in some doll village."

"A brighter, sunnier version of Hogsmeade, one might say."

Hermione nodded in agreement.

"It's so nice to get away from all the chaos at Hogwarts every now and then. Don't get me wrong, I love the place, just not everyone in it."

"I completely agree. But hey, two completely stress free weeks. What more could you want?"

Hermione chuckled and let out a small, relieved sigh.

"Where did Tonks say this was, again?" Harry asked.

"Wiltshire, I believe."

~

Not long later, Hermione and Harry got changed into fresh clothes and went downstairs to find their friends.

"Ready for the visit?" Lupin asked.

"More than ready," Harry replied. "Hermione and I were just admiring the view from your guest room."

"Any particular requests?"

"I don't think so - I don't know much about the county other than it being home to Stonehenge. So, lead the way, I guess," Hermione replied with a smile.

And so they were off.

Hermione delighted at the prospect of walking beside those cottages she had seen from the window earlier. They appeared to be so welcoming and cosy, and she felt strangely at home.

A short while later, they reached the centre of town which was adorned with dinky little shops and boutiques that warmed Hermione's heart.

"See, I told you the place looked like a brighter, sunnier version of Hogsmeade," said Harry.

Mesmerised by the vibrant colours of the produce, they walked over to the local greengrocer. Tonks and Lupin bought a few bits and pieces for dinner whilst Harry and Hermione browsed around and commented on various rather unusual foods.

"Miss Hermione, i-is that you?"

Hermione spun around and looked to see who could have possibly been addressing her so.

"Down here, Miss Hermione."

She immediately looked down and to her utter surprise she found none other than Dobby the house-elf in front of her.

"Dobby! Oh my goodness, what on Earth are you doing here?"

"Oh Miss, Dobby must come here every day. Dobby must buy food for Master."

"But why would you come here to buy food for your master?"

Harry then came over to see what was going and he was very shocked, to say the least.

"Harry Potter! Dobby has missed Harry Potter very much. Dobby didn't know Harry Potter and Miss would be here!"

"Goodness- hello to you too, Dobby. Hermione and I have also missed you. Why are you here? Has something happened?"

"Nothing has happened, Harry Potter. Dobby bumped into Miss Hermione."

While Harry found himself relieved that Dobby wasn't there to reveal some dire information to him, Hermione found herself dying for an explanation from the house elf. She knew all too well to which Wizarding family Dobby belonged.

"Dobby," Hermione interrupted. "You didn't quite answer my question from earlier-"

"Dobby is so very happy to see Harry Potter. Harry Potter is so very kind to Dobby."

"Dobby, why are you buying food from here?" She tried again, but Dobby couldn't hear her over his sheer excitement at bumping into Harry at the market. 

Harry finally took her out of her misery by asking the house elf the question himself.

"Why is Dobby here? What strange question Harry Potter asks Dobby. Dobby is here to buy food for Master."

"Yes, Dobby, I know. But why here of all places?"

"Harry Potter is being very strange. Dobby does not understand," he said with a frown. "Dobby must return to Master now. Dobby must not be late."

Hermione tried one more question. 

"How far is your journey back to Master, Dobby?"

"Dobby must walk twelve minutes. Dobby now says good bye to Harry Potter and Miss Hermione."

Twelve minutes! So Malfoy Manor was here - but of course! Malfoy Manor was in Wiltshire, how could she forget? Godric, if she had known, she would have never come. How naive of her to think that she could escape his presence. Did he bribe the Fates to torture her at every possible opportunity?

"You really mean to say that the Malfoys live only a twelve minute walk from here? Hermione asked as she and Harry went back over to their hosts.

"I guess so," he shrugged. "And that's with Dobby legs, so it's probably around an eight minute walk. Don't worry about it, though, I highly doubt we'll be seeing them."

"It just seems odd to me that Tonks would live so near a family she despises," she reflected.

They told their hosts of their encounter with Dobby, but neither of the two seemed particularly shocked.

"Yes, Malfoy Manor is a twenty minute walk or so from Lusca Lodge," Remus said rather indifferently.

"But, I hope you don't mind me saying, your aunt, Narcissa Malfoy, lives there." 

"Yes, she does," replied Tonks calmly. "I understand your confusion, given that my mother was disowned by her family. We tend not to cross each other's paths. The Malfoys do leave the Manor of course, they just never come into town. Their house-elf takes care of anything they might need from town."

It began to get dark and so they returned back to the house. Hermione found herself to be in a liminal state of confusion that she couldn't quite grasp. She assured herself that she would not come into contact with a certain member of the Malfoy household during her short stay at Lusca Lodge.


	13. Chapter 13

"An invitation to dinner at Malfoy Manor tomorrow evening?" Tonks almost choked as she tore the letter out of her husband's hand. "Never in my life have I been so stunned. What could they possibly want from us?"

"I don't know, dear, I wish I could tell you."

"You're not going to accept it, right?" Hermione asked. It was more of a plea than a question.

"I'm not sure this is an invitation one can simply turn down, as much as that may be the temptation," Lupin replied. "Lucius Malfoy is the kind of man, indeed, to whom I should never dare refuse any thing, which he condescended to ask."

"But - but - Tonks, they disowned your mother-"

"No, dear, the Blacks did, not the Malfoys. And while Narcissa may be a Black, this letter has made it explicitly clear that we have been invited as acquaintances, not due to familial links or friendship."

"But you three are half bloods and I'm a muggle born. What could they want with us?"

"I'm assuming it has something to do with Harry. Or perhaps they heard that two of Draco's classmates were in the area and thus thought it improper not to greet them somehow. I'm really not sure, Hermione. These aristocrats are often hard to read."

"But-"

"Hermione, just leave it," said Harry softly. "These wizard families aren't to be trifled with."

That was one way of putting it.

Hermione decided to abandon her attempts at swaying her friends' opinions and instead collapsed on the sofa with a book in her hand.

"Oh, Hermione, I forgot to ask- do you have anything you can wear for tomorrow?" Tonks asked.

Hermione was slightly confused by the meaning of the question and replied in the affirmative, believing it to be obvious that she should have brought enough clothes with her for these two weeks.

"I meant in terms of something formal. You can't just show up to Malfoy Manor in jeans and a t-shirt."

"Why ever not? It was my understanding that the Malfoys _like_ to have the distinction of rank preserved."

"Mione, please just try to cooperate with me. We're all rather reluctant to attend this dinner, I more than anyone, but sometimes we just have to accept and deal with difficult situations."

Hermione felt slightly disappointed in her selfish behaviour and angry at a certain blond pureblood for arousing this reaction in her. She was immediately apologetic.

"Merlin, I am so sorry. How could I let myself behave so rudely in my friends' own home? I think I'm just letting my opinions on certain matters get the best of me. I promise to be on my best behaviour from now on."

Tonks accepted her apology, although reassuring her not to feel guilty for expressing an entirely natural reaction to a stressful event that she too was rather anxious to face.

"So," began Hermione, eager to change the subject. "Where am I to find an adequate outfit?"

"I think I have something you could wear."

To Malfoy Manor, therefore, they were to go.

~

_The next evening._

Malfoy Manor had just now come into sight, immersed as it was within many acres of land. Hermione could hardly deny that it was handsome, much more so than she had expected. While it was dark and brooding, it had no artificial appearance and Hermione couldn't help but finding great taste in it.

They now came up to a large pair of wrought-iron grates which opened automatically as soon as they came up to them. Not by means of technology, but by some dark power it seemed.

Hermione tugged down on the long-sleeved black floor-length dress that Tonks had provided her with as they reached the entrance to the house. It was loose but not ill-fitting, although it was clear that the dress did not belong to her. It wasn't really her style, but then again, it was elegant and sophisticated - much more so than the awkward red dress she wore to the formal. At least it covered her legs, arms and chest. She didn't really fancy having Lucius Malfoy stare at her breasts.

Much like the gates, these doors eerily swung open without any applied force. The hallway was large, dimly lit, and sumptuously decorated, with a magnificient carpet covering most of the stone floor. The eyes of the pale-faced portraits on the walls followed the four of them as they strode past.

At the end of the hall was a bronze-handled door to the dining room. This time the door was opened by a tall, blond-haired man with strongly-marked features which might once have been handsome.

"Welcome to Malfoy Manor," is all Lucius Malfoy said in an authoritative tone that was marked with self-importance.

His air was not conciliating, nor was his manner of receiving them, such as to make his visitors forget their inferior blood status.

He gestured for them to enter the room and the guests complied. The dining room had a long and ornate table at which three people were sitting. They rose to their feet and either bowed or curtseyed at their guests's entrance.

Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott, both meticulously dressed in fitted black suits. As if one Slytherin classmate wasn't enough.

Narcissa Malfoy was the other, also dressed in black. Hermione thought to herself that she was quite beautiful.

As if by some rather treacherous symbolism, the Malfoys (and Nott) were sat on one side of the table and the guests were positioned on the other. Any conversation they had felt, although not for this reason alone, much like an interview.

She was sat in front of Theodore, Harry in front of Draco, Remus in front of Lucius and Tonks in front of Narcissa. This, at least, allowed her to slightly escape the attention of the youngest Malfoy, who undoubtedly felt very much violated by having a mudblood invade his ever so pure and untainted home.

Much of Lucius' questions were directed at Harry, which was to be expected. Harry replied nervously and concisely, although not fearfully, which pleased Hermione very much. He did, however, eventually condescend to asking Hermione a few questions. This of course only occurred when he had exhausted every possibly question he had for Harry, had asked Remus five questions and Tonks one.

"And you must be Miss Granger, I presume. Ah yes, Draco's told me all about you. And your parents ... Muggles, aren't they?"

"That's right."

Mr Malfoy experienced a little surprise due the presumptuous nature of her reply, which Narcissa wisely interrupted.

"Do you play any instruments, Miss Granger?"

"I play the piano."

"You must play for us later," she said warmly.

"Yes," added Lucius. "We have a magnificent piano forte in the drawing room. I am sure we are all very curious to hear your skill. I assume your parents taught you, not a teacher or governess."

Hermione noticed a slight look of shame flash across his son's face.

"Neither, sir; I learnt on my own. My parents cannot play."

"You must have had a very interesting upbringing."

"What on Earth do you mean by that?"

Lucius' eyes widened, both in astonishment and enjoyment.

"Why, they are muggles of course."

"I don't see why that should make my upbringing any less valid."

"Upon my word, you give your opinion very decidedly for so young a person. What is your age?"

"Having been raised by muggle parents, one can hardly expect me to own it," she replied with a hidden smirk, deliberately avoiding the second question. She noticed Narcissa's lip curve up slightly and Theodore Nott immediately reached for his glass of water in attempt to cover up the laughter he was struggling to contain.

Lucius Malfoy seemed quite astonished at not receiving a direct answer. Hermione suspected herself to be the first creature who had ever dared to trifle with so much dignified impertinence.

"There are few people in England who have more true enjoyment of music than myself, or a better natural taste. If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient," Lucius reflected and Hermione laughed silently at his hypocrisy.

As the house elves started to bring in the first course, Hermione began to worry how she would avoid eating the meat she could see the starters consisted of. The Malfoys would have surely thought it a great impertinence on her behalf if she refused any of the food they had so condescendingly bestowed upon her.

Why did she have to come?

To her great surprise, she found that one of the house elves placed a courgette soufflé in front of her as a starter, as opposed to the beef tartare that the others found before them.

How could they have known? Perhaps Tonks had communicated the information to the Malfoys, but she didn't remember her or Remus sending any response to the Malfoys. Now that she came to think of it, there had been no RSVP attached to the letter. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy simply expected the Lupins to be available, and if not, to accommodate.

Hermione looked up from her plate and caught Draco Malfoy looking at her, almost analysing her. What could he want? Was he there to criticise her table manners? To sneer at her as she forgot to place her napkin on her lap? She quickly remembered she was supposed to do that and threw the cloth onto her legs. Theodore Nott let out a sniffle.

As a result of all her thinking, Hermione had not yet touched her food and she quickly became conscious of the fact that everybody else had.

"You do not like your food, Miss Granger?" asked Lucius scornfully.

At this, Draco looked up at her. There was a hint of worry in his eyes. She could not tell whether it was for her food or for his father’s behaviour.

“Quite the contrary, I assure you,” she replied. She would need to do better than that. She scratched her head. “I didn’t want to begin before anybody else, that is all.”

“So I take it you know your place then?”

“Know my place?” she asked in bewilderment. “I didn’t realise that being well-mannered was a sign of low status.”

Tonks threw her a look. Hermione glanced over at Draco. He was looking at Lucius, seeming perhaps a little ashamed of his father’s ill-breeding.

“Goodness gracious,” Lucius began, his eyes narrowing. “You have quite some-”

His wife interrupted wisely, once again.

“That’s very polite of you, dear,” said Narcissa quickly before returning to her food and encouraging her husband to do the same.

Hermione quickly picked up her fork, determined to redeem herself. Harry quickly tapped her hand and pointed at her knife, reminding her to use it. Hermione thanked him with her eyes.

The remaining courses they were served were luxurious to say the least, although it pained her to eat the food that poor Dobby and the other house elves must have slaved to prepare. She knew better, however, than to not eat it, even if she felt herself betraying her own S.P.E.W. club.

Draco Malfoy did not speak a single word to her the entire duration of the meal. He glanced at her every now and then - when a new course was brought to them. However, that would last only a second, and his attention would soon return to his own meal or the other people at his dinner table.

When dinner was over, they moved to the drawing room where Hermione found herself engaged in pleasant conversation with Theodore Nott, who she could tell was desperate to hear someone other than Lucius Malfoy speaking. He would not have condescended to converse with her otherwise.

"Do you often stay with the Malfoys during the holidays?"

"Every now and then, when my father is not home."

"And do you enjoy it?"

"Let's continue this conversation over by the piano. They are expecting you to play, Granger."

They moved over to the piano forte that was situated in the corner of the room. She sat down on the stool and he drew a chair near her, on her left.

"Why do you avoid my question, Theodore?"

"Did I give you permission to call me by my first name?"

She giggled under her breath and began to play the piece in front of her.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Are you always this cold?"

"No, only when I am forced to converse with a certain Miss Granger."

She could sense him warming up.

Their conversation progressed cordially as Hermione continued playing Für Elise. They spoke of books, music, school and this drew the attention of the younger Mr Malfoy, who eyed them suspiciously. He eventually left his seat, where he wasn't speaking anyway, and went over to the piano.

"Do you mean to frighten me, Malfoy, by coming in all this state to hear me?"

"I only mean to suggest a few improvements to your playing."

Hermione scoffed slightly. "And what could these improvements possibly be?"

Draco sat next to her, removed his rings and began to play the same tune himself. His long, slender fingers slid against the the keys gently and graciously, in a manner so unrecognisable for him.

"You have to be gentle with the fingering," he whispered in her ear, causing her to gasp slightly. "Your fingers have to lightly graze the top of the keys, as though you are teasing them. Allow the sound they make in response to your touch to guide you."

He now put his hands over hers, pressing down gently - a gentleness from him that she was entirely unaccustomed to. But it came alongside that familiar coldness which made her shudder slightly. Why was he doing this to her? He lifted his hands off of Hermione's and she felt bare, exposed and vulnerable. She wanted him to touch her again and she hated herself for it.

Hermione then turned to her left, where she now addressed Theo: "What should I play next, Theo? My fingers await your orders."

Hermione could sense Malfoy's sheer distaste at her remark.

Theo gave the scowling Draco Malfoy a look as he found Hermione a new piece.

"I find it strange that we are only now having a civil conversation, the three of us, having been acquainted for quite some years," Hermione remarked as she played, taking care to be more gentle this time.

"If that is meant to be some sort of reproach, I offer only this my defence: I am ill qualified to recommend myself to strangers," said Malfoy.

"Shall we ask your friend the reason of this?" said Hermione, addressing Theo. "Shall we ask him why someone of sense and education is ill qualified to recommend himself to strangers? Not that I'd refer to my own classmates as strangers - that privilege I leave to Malfoy."

"I don't know Hermione, maybe because the bloke can't be arsed."

"Or perhaps," Draco began, squinting his eyes at Theo. "I do not have the talent of appearing interested in people I don't give a shit about."

"I do not play this instrument remarkably well, Malfoy. But I always supposed it be my own fault - because I would not take the trouble of practising. Not once did I not believe my fingers as capable as any other person's."

"Or perhaps neither of us perform to strangers."

Lucius had called Theo over to him, leaving Draco and Hermione alone by the piano. He liked having her all to himself.

"I see you have taken a liking to Theo."

"He is much more agreeable than I thought."

"How unprejudiced of you," he mocked.

"Why the sudden rudeness, Malfoy?"

"I am not the one telling other men that my fingers await their orders."

Hermione now stopped playing. The anger building up in her made her unfit to play for these people.

"It was a perfectly innocent comment that _you_ misinterpreted."

"Don't think me naive, Granger," he spat. "Even if that were the case, the fact both of you are suddenly on a first name basis is highly improper."

"I do not see why it should concern you in any way, particularly after your behaviour at the Halloween Dinner."

"Is that what you were doing here then? Making a pathetic attempt at retaliation?"

"I said nothing of the kind, I only pointed out your insufferable hypocrisy."

"Insufferable hypocrisy she says! She who intrudes her way into my house and demonstrates nothing but rudeness to my father when he engages in conversation with her. She who hardly even appreciates the food given to her. Yes, given your immaculate behaviour, by all means call me the hypocrite."

"Get away from me." She now spoke with such revulsion that had Malfoy not complied, she would herself have stormed out of the Manor.

"Gladly," he scoffed, and added sarcastically: “I hope you had a most pleasant evening at Malfoy Manor, Miss Granger.”

He excused himself with a bow, not out of politeness, but out of decorum, and strode furiously away from her to take a seat next to his father.

Hermione began another a tune, one of a much quicker pace, in attempt to release all her anger.

Tonks now went over to Hermione, sitting in the chair previously occupied by Theo.

"Hermione, I just wanted to warn you not to push these people any further than you have already. I fear what they might do."

"Don't you see, Tonks? That is exactly the point. They want us to be afraid. Our fear is what gives them power," she said as she continued to play away at the piano.

"Just please be careful. Promise me that?"

Her friend showed real concern and so Hermione replied: "Of course."

Hermione took a break from the piano, her fingers starting to ache and her head starting to pound. She went over to one of the house elves and requested a glass of water, which they were all to glad to provide her with.

Narcissa Malfoy now approached her.

"You play so beautifully," she said. "Not that I am surprised, of course. I have heard so much about your brilliance."

She wondered who from.

"Thank you, Mrs Malfoy."

"And was the dinner to your taste?" asked Narcissa, analysing Hermione carefully.

"It was exceptional, thank you."

Narcissa let out a sigh of relief.

"I am very glad to hear of that. It was of paramount importance that your dietary requirements were tended to."

Again, she wondered about the source of this information.

"You are too kind."

Hermione soon returned to the piano where she played for a little while longer. Theo rejoined her at one point and they continued their previous conversation. But Malfoy said no more to her that evening. After a few more songs, the four guests took their leave from the house all too gladly. The four occupants of the house appeared equally glad to see them gone, except - perhaps - one of them.


	14. Chapter 14

More than once did Hermione, in her early morning rambles within the nearby grounds, unexpectedly meet Draco Malfoy. In attempt to prevent its ever happening again, she took care to inform him that it was a favourite walk of hers, in hope that he would take the hint and not come down this way again. But still, they met again at least two further times. They never said much when they bumped into one another, only greeted each other with cold civility. On the third, Malfoy condescended so much as to enquire on her health!

His friend, however, was far more willing to converse with Hermione. She had been reading over a letter from Luna that had just been owled to her during one of her early morning walks, when she came across Theodore Nott. The underlying tone of sadness that seeped through Luna's writing had lowered Hermione's spirits considerably and so upon seeing Theo, she quickly put away the letter and forced a smile.

"I did not know that you walked this way."

"I tend to walk once a year or so. It's important to engage in regular exercise."

Hermione smiled and Theo gestured for them to walk together.

"Now that we are friends, Theo, I was wondering if you could answer this one question that has been consuming my thoughts lately?"

"You're not my friend, Hermit."

Hermione blushed a little and said: "Alright then, acquaintance, please could you do me a favour?"

"Only if you'll do one for me."

She nodded and proceeded with her request.

"Well, I've just received a letter from Luna and I'm really not used to seeing her in such low spirits. I can only trace her being so up to when Blaise decided - quite abruptly - to no longer even speak to her. I know he is a friend of yours. Could you possibly enlighten me on his motivations?"

Theo had not been expecting the question although he seemed rather unperturbed nonetheless.

"Oh, Malfoy and Pansy convinced him that Loony Lovegood was indifferent to him. They both congratulate themselves on having saved their friend from the inconveniences of a most imprudent match. You really ought to keep up with the Hogwarts beef. It's common knowledge by this point."

She really should have expected it. But while she despised Malfoy, she did not believe him as low as this.

"Not in Gryffindor it's not! I am astounded by his pride and caprice. To make Luna - and Blaise - suffer so! He has ruined every hope of happiness for the most affectionate, generous heart in the world. And to think I was starting to blame Blaise for it!"

"I suppose that lessens the honour of my friend's triumph considerably but it really has nothing to do with me so quite frankly I don't give a fuck."

She rolled her eyes at his response, debating whether to reproach him for it or not. She decided not to, feeling that it would have no positive outcome.

"Now, Granger, I would like to claim my reciprocal favour."

"Go for it."

Here, Theodore Nott seemed almost shy. Hermione had never seen without his usual unforgiving confidence - or cockiness - she couldn't really tell.

"You are not to tell anyone what I am about to ask you, got it?"

Hermione, slightly confused, gave him a quick nod.

"Well.. so.. there's this girl. I don't know exactly if she likes me, I think she might like someone else, one of my friends, actually. And well, the Yule Ball is coming up and I wanted to ask her."

"Is this," thought Hermione, "meant for me?" and she coloured at the idea, before asking him who this mystery girl was.

"I will literally fucking kill you if you tell anyone," he snapped defensively. "Pansy Parkinson."

Hermione's eyes went wide.

"Pansy Parkinson," she scoffed. "Good luck with that."

"What the fuck do you mean?" He retaliated.

"Well, she's obsessed with Malfoy for one. She's like in love with him or something. She'll never say yes to you."

Here Theo let out an almost wild laugh.

"Pansy in love with Malfoy? Don't make me rupture my spleen with laughter."

"Okay, now I am confused. Pansy flirts with Malfoy all the time."

"Congratulations, Albus Dumbledore, on the observation. Pansy isn't in love with Malfoy, she just hates you. Also, Pansy flirts with literally any man that will give her attention."

"Why would her flirting with Draco have anything to do with me? And earlier you said she liked one of your friends-"

"Oh for fuck's sake, Hermione, no wonder you're not in Ravenclaw. I was talking about Blaise," answering only her second query. She later would reflect that she should have asked the two questions separately.

"Blaise?"

"Yeah, why else would she want to separate him from Luna? Keep up, Hermit."

"Maybe because she hates Luna. I really doubt it has anything to do with her liking him," she said pensively. A thought then struck her.

"Hang on, one sec," Hermione said as she moved closer to him. She began to sniff him.

"Oi, what the fuck are you doing? Get off me, you freak. Are you trying to sniff me? Bloody Merlin, you Gryffindor lot must all be the products of some severe inbreeding."

"Of course! I should have known: cigarette smoke, freshly brewed black coffee and something vaguely metallic."

"You literally have ten seconds to explain yourself or I am leaving before you infect me with loser disease or something."

"Pansy's amortentia, of course. I thought she had been describing Malfoy but this makes way more sense."

A small little smile had crept onto Theo's face, despite his very obvious attempts at suppressing it.

"You really think she was describing _me_?"

"I am now absolutely certain of it."

"I hate your fucking guts, Hermione, but I will admit that you are rather useful when you want to be."

"Aw, thanks Theo, I think you're great too," she mocked.

"Yeah, calm, whatever, I've spent way too much time with you now, so I'll be off."

"Uh - not so fast."

"What do you want?"

"A 'thank you' would be great."

"In your dreams, Granger," he scoffed as he walked away.

"You know, you can be so sweet when you want to be," she shouted after him, to which he replied only by raising his ringed middle finger at her.


	15. Chapter 15

When Hermione returned to Lusca Lodge, she found herself consumed by agitation and tears. How could Malfoy allow himself to destroy poor Luna's heart? Blaise too must have suffered greatly. The great tumult of her thoughts brought about a severe headache that prevented her going into town with the others in the early afternoon. Tonks seemed very concerned with her health and promised to see what she could find in town to help cure her.

When they were gone, Hermione read over Luna's letter again in attempt to exasperate herself as much as possible against Malfoy. There was no sign of a complaint, only a lack of cheerfulness that used to constitute her manner of writing. All she wanted was to be reunited with her friend, although she knew she could never tell her the details of the event, fearing it would only make her feel worse.

She was quite startled when the door bell rang, thinking at first that one of her friends might have forgotten something and so returned with such haste. Her hair was a mess and she was wearing a large oversized t-shirt and baggy trousers.

To her utter amazement, she opened the door to Draco Malfoy.

"Well, aren't you going to welcome me in? It's kind of pissing it down out here."

His hair and suit were drenched in rain, but it could not get a single shiver out of him. She had not even noticed the state of the weather and immediately felt concern for her friends who were exposed to it.

"Yes, of course, please come in," she said, unsure what else to say.

She lead him to Tonks and Lupin's sitting room and gestured for him to sit down but he refused and instead remained standing, in a position leaned against the wooden mantelpiece. She wondered whether she should offer him something to drink or something to help him dry off but she decided against it, waiting for him to start the conversation. But he spoke not, which puzzled Hermione exceedingly. Why would he have taken the trouble to come if he had nothing to say?

After pacing back and forth across the room, and taking a deep breath, he finally began.

"I have struggled and fought for way too fucking long. I give up now. You must allow me tell you how ardently I admire you and-"

He paused and now looked over at her, noticing her silent astonishment. This he considered sufficient encouragement and so he continued.

"In saying this I am aware I will violently be going against the wishes of my family, my friends, and I hardly need add, my own better judgement. Your repulsive blood status matched with my purity, added to the fact that you're a fucking Gryffindor and I'm a Slytherin, would make an alliance between us a highly reprehensible connection. As a rational man, I regard it as such myself. But it cannot be helped. Relieve my suffering and consent to be my date for the Yule Ball."

While he spoke anxiously, his facial expressions suggested real security, as though there could be no possible way for Hermione to reject him after such a condescension. This inspired so intense a rage within her, that the most civil response she could give was:

"I think I am supposed to thank you in a situation like this. But I cannot. I have told you before that I have never desired your good opinion and your words just now have given me every reason to continue feeling so. If I caused you any pain, it was unconsciously done but I will not apologise for it. The reasons you give for not liking me will help you to quickly overcome these feelings, I should imagine."

His face was filled with anger and astonishment.

"What? That's it? That's all you're going to fucking say to me? Do you care to inform me as to why I am rejected with such a half arsed attempt at civility?"

Hermione's anger now raised to her feet.

"I don't know, Malfoy, would you like to tell me why with such a clear intention of offending and insulting me, you decided it would be a great idea to tell me you liked me against your will, your reason and even against your own better judgement? Even if my response had been uncivil - which it was not - I am quite certain this would have been enough of an excuse for it. But that's not all. You know it's not all. I have every reason in the world to hate you. Do you really expect me to go to the Yule Ball with you after you destroyed Blaise and Luna's opportunity to do so? Don't even try to deny that you have done it."

"Why the fuck would I deny it? It's a fucking success on my behalf. Lovegood is a blood traitor and no match for a wizard of pureblood like Zabini. I have been much kinder towards Blaise than towards myself."

Hermione winced at his derogatory description of her friend but forced herself to carry on.

"Oh, but that's not all. A month or so ago, my poor opinion of you was decided when Viktor Krum revealed your character to me. I would like to see you try to defend yourself here."

"I told you not to mention his fucking name around me," he shouted, now completely abandoning every attempt at civility. He began to close the gap between them as he strode towards her in fury. "Why the fuck do you care about him so much?"

"Anyone who knows how you have treated him could not help but take interest in him and his misfortunes."

"His misfortunes!" repeated Malfoy contemptuously. Hermione found herself thrown against the mantelpiece, gasping as Malfoy put his hands on either wall either side of her head. Their faces were so close she could feel the slaps of his raging breath against her reddening cheeks. "Yes, his misfortunes have been great indeed."

" _You_ have done this. Stop treating him with such contempt and ridicule and take responsibility for your actions for once in your fucking life!" She screamed and he banged his fists against the wall, but she refused to flinch. Why wasn't she scared of him? Everyone was scared of him. Why did she have to be any different? It drove him insane.

"So this is what you think of me? That I am a worthless piece of shit that you could never be seen to go to the ball with? Thank you, honestly Granger, for explaining yourself so eloquently. My faults in your calculation are heavy indeed," he spat, not once lifting his gaze from Hermione who was looking at the floor. He continued:

"Perhaps you would have overlooked all these bullshit excuses you now bring up, had your little Gryffindor pride not been hurt by my honest confession of your flaws. Had I concealed my struggles and flattered you into believing that your vile blood status meant nothing to me, perhaps you would have acted differently. But no, the little mudblood's feelings have been hurt. It's the truth, Granger, fucking accept it. But it's not like me to pretend to be nice and I do not regret what I said to you in any way, shape or form. Could you seriously expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your blood status? To congratulate myself on securing a date with someone whose condition in life is so disgustingly below my own?"

She now lifted her eyes up to his and held them there furiously.

"Oh, you are so very wrong, Malfoy. The way in which you presented your feelings to me only spared me the concern I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentleman like manner. There is nothing you could have said that would have tempted me to accept you. From the very first day we met in first year, your arrogance, your conceit, your selfish disdain for the feelings of others made me quite convinced that you were the last person in the world whom I could ever be prevailed upon to like, let alone date. I loathe every single part of your being and wish every worst thing for you. You are worthless. You are nothing."

Malfoy was now silent. The only sound was their hot, heaving breaths as they glared at each other. Their faces were an inch away from one another.

"I walked away from you the other night at Malfoy Manor. It was cowardly. But I will do so again if you tell me to. Tell me you do not want me to come near you again."

Hermione hadn't expected such a response.

"Never come near me again."

"Tell me you would choose anyone but me,"  
he whispered in her ear, brushing his hand against her side.

"Anyone but you," she replied breathlessly.

"Tell me you hate me, Granger."

"I hate you."

Without another thought, he pulled her into him aggressively and began to lean in. Hermione didn't attempt to resist him. She wanted more, needed more. She craved his touch, craved his closeness. She now wanted the inch gap between them to be closed entirely. Their lips were about to collide and Hermione began to close her eyes.

But instead, he whispered torturously in her ear: "You have said quite enough. I won't come near you again."

He left and would not return to Lusca Lodge.


	16. Chapter 16

The tumult of her mind was so painfully great, that it pulled tears out of her eyes. Any sense of gratification that she could have felt was greatly overpowered by her all-consuming disgust at his pride, his abominable pride. How could he so easily and indifferently admit to his deliberate separation of Luna and Blaise? How could he speak so cruelly of Viktor, who was nothing but the victim of _his_ malignancy? And how he could he treat _her_ so cruelly? He was incoherent, nonsensical, erratic, fickle, incomprehensible. Who was Draco Malfoy? After a seemingly interminable effort to define him, Hermione concluded that he could not be labelled. And she hated it. She, who always needed the answer to everything, felt violated in her deprivation of knowledge.

When Harry and the Lupins returned, drenched in rain, she was perhaps overly affectionate towards them, believing it to be the only way she could conceal her true sentiments. Her tear-stained cheeks and red puffy eyes may have given her away, and when Tonks proceeded to enquire of her health, she could sense the flow of tears returning. They poured down her cheeks uncontrollably. If Harry hadn't pulled her into a tight embrace, she would have surely drowned in her tears.

They all looked at each other in shock and confusion. When the flow of tears began to decelerate, she began a long, apologetic, breathless ramble. It was wild, chaotic and unpunctuated.

"Oh please do not look so worried spare me your concern I know not what came across me I believe I am simply too ill or maybe too tired I don't know but sad or hurt no of course not please do not worry about it there is absolutely nothing wrong with me all I need is a good nights sleep and I'll be perfectly fit and healthy tomorrow morning I am terribly sorry for my behaviour these past few days you must really think me mad I swear I'm not crazy please-"

"Hermione!" Tonks exclaimed, in attempt to shut her up. "Sorry, I don't mean to shout at you. Your endless ramble really just isn't helping anything. I'll make you a hot chamomile tea and bring it up you. Go relax, read a book, scribble something down. Anything that will help bring you some peace."

Hermione nodded gratefully and began to open her mouth again but Remus then spoke.

"Harry, go upstairs with her, will you? Make sure she's alright."

"Yes, I believe I ought to."

Harry helped her up the stairs and she immediately collapsed onto her bed.

"I don't know if you mind me asking, but what actually happened, Hermione?"

"I wish I could tell you, Harry," she whispered, just audibly enough for him to hear. Although she recognised her foolishness, didn't want to lie to him. She had been lying to him for so long. And so now she did the next best thing:  
hide the truth. "But I am afraid I cannot reveal my current situation to anyone. It is something I must deal with very much on my own."

Harry nodded and did not press her further. Instead, he recognised that a change of subject had been long required.

"Let's paint," he grinned childishly.

"Paint?"

"Yes, paint. I saw Remus had some art supplies in his study, although I wonder what for? He doesn't strike me as an artist."

"Neither."

"Well, do you wish to paint then?"

Hermione gave it some thought and before saying: "why not?" with a shrug.

"Great!" He cried, clasping his hands together and ran downstairs.

He returned a few minutes later, arms full with various tubes of paint, two canvases almost slipping out of his fingers, a palette pressed against his chest, and two paintbrushes held between his teeth. He dropped them all to the floor and let out a sigh of relief.

"Blimey, that was harder than expected," he panted. "Oh, Tonks said to try not to break any of the supplies because Remus needs it for his art therapy sessions."

So that was why he was in possession of all these supplies. Hermione felt her heart touched. Although he didn't like to admit it, Remus had always struggled with self esteem issues surrounding his lupine state, particularly in regards to his worthiness for Tonks. Such wonderful people and she had behaved so appallingly in their home on multiple occasions.

"We need some water," she said. "To clean our brushes."

She looked at the dirtied paintbrushes, crispy with dried remnants of those magical colours. When she dipped the head of the brush in the lukewarm water that Harry had just procured and watched, with some hope, as the scabs of paint dissolved. When she took the brush out, it was clean and soft.

Paintbrush gripped tenaciously in her hand, she walked towards the canvas. It was so pure and full of nothing that she couldn't bring herself to ruin it.

"I don't know where to start," she confessed.

Harry laughed slightly and rolled his eyes.

"You are such a perfectionist. Literally do anything. You could draw a lump of shit and that would be fine. No one is marking you. Come on, Hermione, loosen up a little."

"That is so much easier said than done," she said, a slight smile escaping her lips.

"Right, that's it," he said, pulled out his wand and tapped it the direction of the stereo. "If this doesn't work, I'm not sure what else will."

A pretty song started playing and it was perfect.

_Is that such a stretch of the imagination?_   
_Hey little train, wait for me!_   
_I was held in chains, but now I'm free_   
_I'm hanging in there, don't you see?_   
_In this process of elimination_

Harry was right. She began to laugh and dipping her brush into a careless mix of red and yellow, she began to wave it all over the canvas. The canvas wasn't ruined - it was improved. She added a few specks of blue and a long violent line of green. It was abstract and wildly liberating. She began to throw specks of paint all over the surface so uncontrollably that a few landed on Harry's painting.

"Hermione!" He screamed. "I'll get you for that."

He threw back splatters of paint all over her painting and so she threw some onto his face in retaliation.

"You did not just do that!" He cried and did the same back.

They laughed and laughed as they continued to smear each other in paint. The room was covered from head to toe in paint, but they paid no attention. They could fix it all up with a tap of their wands before Tonks or Remus would find out.

Speaking of which, it was in that moment that they heard a faint sound footsteps ascending the staircase.

"Shit!" Harry muttered, panic rising in him.

Hermione silenced him and pulled her wand out of her pocket, muttered a few words under her breath, waved her wand in an S shape and within an instant, every unwanted splash of paint was cleared from their surroundings and themselves.

A knock on the door came moments after.

"Come in," yelled Hermione.

Tonks pushed the door open with her back as her hands were carrying a wooden tray with a teapot, two teacups, a small bowl full of sugar cubes, and two silver spoons.

"Unusual time to be having tea but chamomile tea is supposed to make you feel sleepy so let's hope that's true. I can't have the two of you bouncing off the walls until the early hours."

She place the tray down on the bedside table and looked up at them. Confusion struck her.

"You two look awfully clean after having painted so much. Not even a splatter of paint on your fingers. How terribly bizzarre."

"I suppose so," said Harry tentatively.

"Well, enjoy your tea, you two," she shrugged. "And goodnight."

"Goodnight, Tonks," they replied in unison as she shut the door behind her.

~

When Hermione awoke the following morning, she felt wonderfully refreshed and rejuvenated. Tonks' tea had sent both her and Harry almost straight to sleep. She couldn't remember the last time she had slept so well.

She was startled by a firm tap on her window, and so immediately jumped out of bed and made her way over to it.

A letter.

How odd, she hadn't been expecting any letters from anyone during these holidays, especially as she didn't think her friends knew Tonks and Lupin's address.

She saw the back of the letter first, intrigued to see her name and current address written in a dark green ink.

_Miss Hermione Granger_   
_Lusca Lodge_   
_Wiltshire_   
_United Kingdom_   
_SN- --_

But no sign or record of the sender. She flipped it around to the front, peeled off the green wax seal that enclosed the envelope and pulled out the letter contained within it.

It was dated from Malfoy Manor at ten o'clock in the evening. Green ink, green wax seal - which she now observed had the Malfoy crest stamped into it - she should have known. If she hadn't been so drowsy from her current sleepiness, she would have known straight away and would have never opened the letter. But now that it was open, she had to read it. Or curiosity would have killed her.

_Dear Miss Granger,_

_Allow me to start with a disclaimer that this letter will not contain any repetition of those disgusting series events that took place earlier which I am sure we are both all too willing to forget. However, I demand your justice and so subsequently, I demand your attention to this letter. If that is not convincing enough, might I add that neither of us would benefit, should you choose to stop reading_.

_Yesterday evening, I found myself accused of two offences of a very different nature, and by no means of equal magnitude. The first being that I detached Blaise from your friend, Luna, and the second being a certain mistreatment towards Mr Viktor Krum. I have no intention of denying the former, but upon reading what I have to say about the latter, I should hope to find myself free of such blame in the future._

_It was very clear to me at the September Formal, and in the days to follow, that Blaise preferred your friend to any other witch in Hogwarts (Beauxbatons included). Sure, they danced almost every dance together at the formal and spoke very frequently after that, but you must remember that I have known Zabini all my life. I have seen him fancy other girls before. I suspected no serious attachment on his behalf, and most certainly not on her's._

_What I am trying to say is that I hardly cared for what was going on between Blaise and Luna at the beginning of their acquaintance. The pair together crossed my mind but rarely. Why the fuck should I care if my friend is courting a Ravenclaw blood traitor? Clearly, he just wanted an easy shag and I wasn't about to be a fucking cockblock, now was I?_

_I began to change my opinion on the matter the evening he brought you and Lovegood into the Slytherin common room. No Ravenclaw, and most certainly no Gryffindor, had entered our sacred ground for years. And he completely disrespected a sacred Slytherin law all for some half-drowned blood traitor. It was made quite clear to me that what Blaise felt towards her was far more acute than I had imagined._

_Immediately, I began to assess her attentions towards him, to see whether she felt any form of regard for Blaise. I could see perhaps a little interest, but without any symptom of peculiar partiality. By this point, I was convinced that she simply enjoyed corrupting him. The Blaise I have known for years would have never dreamed to disrespect me. He, a respectable pureblood, really should have known better than to engage his time with a blood traitor setting out only to indoctrinate him with her ignorant beliefs._

_So of course, I related the truth behind her motivations to him and told him that he was not to speak to her again. He expressed incredulity at first, but with the help of Pansy, he finally accepted the truth._

_When I said that I was particularly proud of this supposed triumph, I also meant that I had managed to sever this connection just before the introduction of the Yule Ball. Had I been just a few dates late, Luna and Blaise would have been engaged to go to the ball together, which would have only causes further complications._

_I am fully aware that what I have written here will evoke a certain amount of resentment in your character, which you have proven to be filled with prejudiced. Or, perhaps this is the only side that you have shown to me._

_Do not think me ignorant of the fact that you, of course, should feel a certain bias towards your friend and against myself. I am well aware that you are more acquainted with Lovegood's character than I can boast, but not necessarily more objectively so. While I desired Lovegood to be in fault, I was able to make an observation on her character entirely impartially. But, perhaps, on this matter, we ought to agree to disagree._

_Moving onto the other, more weighty accusation of having in some way negatively impacted Mr Krum, I can only deny it by laying before you the whole of his connection with my family, as I know not fully where the accusations you hold against me lie._

_The late Mr Krum was an excellent man, one of the oldest friends of my father's. When his health began to deteriorate, he asked for my father to look after Viktor up until either his health improved - as the widowed man could no longer look after him - or until a school could be found for the child that would provide him with permanent residence. Viktor was a year or two older than I, but still we gradually became good friends and I considered him somebody I could trust._

_It was not long before Viktor Krum grew jealous of my father's attentions to me. Not only did he despise that I had two living parents, but most importantly that I had a father who was present in my life and not 'handicapped' and 'useless' as Krum often labelled his own. The fact that he had a father who he deemed 'unfit' and 'unworthy' of the role was, to him, a humiliation beyond expression._

_As a result, he sought a paternal figure in my own father, Lucius. He competed with me in every way possible for his attentions. But naturally, my father could not prefer a son that wasn't his over one that was his own blood. My father had hardly enough regard or care within him to provide mediocre attentions to one child, let alone two. I also believe that my father had not predicted how long term the late Mr Krum's illness would be and had not expected to be housing Viktor for this long. To him, every additional day that Viktor remained at Malfoy Manor was an additional burden._

_This was all the year before I was to attend Hogwarts. Viktor was a little older than I but he was to start school the same year as me._

_A few weeks passed and Mr Krum's health finally gave in and he passed away. Instead of mourning his father's loss, Viktor could hardly conceal his glee. To be finally rid of a burdensome, embarrassment of a father was to him such a relief. I believe someone as detached as my mother felt more sorrow for Mr Krum's passing than his own son._

_What I soon came to realise was that not only did Viktor feel relieved from an embarrassment, but he hoped that this event would lead to his final victory in securing Lucius as his own father. If that meant pushing me out of the way, so be it._

_When my father announced to him that he had negotiated him a place in the Durmstrang institution where he would have permanent residence, as were his father's wishes, Viktor erupted into an all-consuming fury._

_At this point in time, the widowed Andromeda Tonks was still alive, living in your current accommodation - Lusca Lodge - with her young daughter. We but rarely came into contact with them other than the one evening they were to dine at Malfoy Manor._

_Before I proceed to relate the unhappy affair to you, I ask only one thing of you and that is your confidentiality. You must not relate the details of these affairs to anyone, and that includes the immortal dick face that you currently reside with. Most importantly you must not mention any of it to Tonks. I have charmed this segment of the letter to automatically disappear after you have read it, so pay close attention._

_Krum had decided to get revenge on both my father and myself. It took him three whole days to devise the perfect strategy to cause us as much pain as possible. He was going to murder the only person my father truly loved._

Andromeda and her daughter were then approaching the manor, went through the charmed gates and doors and were waiting for the door to the drawing room to open. It was Viktor who opened it, and without hesitation he fired the killing curse right into Andromeda's heart. She fell - her lifeless body collapsed on the floor. In front of Tonks.

_It was in this moment that my family and I rushed down the stairs, having heard the commotion. The moment he saw my mother come down those stairs, his mouth fell and he whispered: "you." He had intended to kill my mother and it was Andromeda Tonks who paid the price for it._

_Krum was immediately sent away in exile to Durmstrang, never to show his face at Malfoy Manor again. The matter was quickly hushed up in order to avoid any scandal and he never faced the consequences for his actions._

_So now I have exposed my self and my family to you entirely, you can have no further reason to hold these prejudices against me. I know not in what manner, under what form of falsehood he had imposed on you, but I suppose detection could not have been in your power and suspicion certainly not in your inclination._

_You may possibly wonder why all this was not told to you last evening. The answer is as such: I was not then master enough of myself to know what could or what ought to be revealed. For the truth of ever thing here related, I can appeal more particularly on the testimony of Theodore Nott, whom is fully acquainted with the unhappy event. If your abhorrence of me should make my assertions valueless, the same cannot hold for Theo._

_I write this letter only to procure as fair a trial from you as I can achieve. As you have asked me never to come near you again, I will keep my promise. This will be our final communication._

_~~I will only add,~~ _

_D.M._

~

The first part of his letter had made Hermione so frustrated, she nearly gave up reading on multiple occasions. How could he be so proud, so unfeeling towards the sentiments of others? And to assume that Luna had any capacity to deceive, to treat others maliciously. Was this not abominable bias and prejudice itself?

But upon reading the second part of the letter, her anger was directed elsewhere entirely. How had she been so deceived by Viktor Krum? He was a monster, a criminal, a fiend. And to have been free to roam the corridors of Durmstrang - and now Hogwarts - it made Hermione feel sick to her stomach. To think that she had paid such close attentions to him - she had even come so close as to liking the villain! She knew not how she could every trust another human being again.

A murderer. The murderer of her dearest friend's own mother. How was such a man to walk free?

Her heart sank in the tears that escaped her eyes. She wanted to hold Tonks in her arms and never let her go. Her poor, poor mother. An angel plucked from the earth too soon.

She fell down onto her knees and looked up into the dismal grey sky. Two birds flew past. She wondered if that could be them - if it could somehow be possible for Andromeda and Ted be together again in some other world. In some other world where there were no forces to tear them apart.

But Tonks had no family. He had taken the last of it away from her.

It had to be some sort of mistake - Tonks had never mentioned her mother being murdered? It was a cruel, horrendous desire but she so wished for Malfoy to be deceiving her.

She had to find out if it was true - to confirm it - and so she went in search of Theodore Nott.


	17. Chapter 17

Hermione began her search for him in the grounds in which they had walked the last time. She sincerely hoped, with all her heart, that he was not at Malfoy Manor. She could not bare to step foot in the place without being thinking of the treacherous murder.

He was no where to be found. And so, in spite of her reluctance, she ventured towards that ghastly house, that Manor of Murder.

Through those wrought iron gates she went once again, down the straight path leading towards the door. She was about to start going up the steps leading the entrance when she was immobilised by a certain voice calling down from one of the windows.

"Hermione? What the fuck are you doing here? The paper round?" Theo mocked.

"Oh, thank goodness it's you. I was coming here looking for you. And thank you, I really appreciate the joke, but now is really not the time," she said, her voice slightly stifled from her previous tears. She took a deep breath and pulled out Malfoy's letter from her jacket pocket. "I have just received the most disheartening and shocking letter from Malfoy."

"Didn't ask," he said as he began to move away from the window."

"Theo, I wouldn't be here if this wasn't important, please just help me out here," she pleaded, fighting back the tears that tried to escape her eyes.

"Well, get a move on then," he said, moving back towards the open window with his arms crossed.

"For fuck's sake, Theo," she cried in exasperation. "Just come down here, will you?"

"Alright, alright, watch the language there, Granger, you don't want the children hearing you," he said, holding his arms up in surrender.

"What are you even on about? Just hurry up!"

"Fine, fine, whatever, don't mind me. It's always 'I need your help, Theo' and never 'do you need any help, Theo?'" He complained jokingly as he shut his window.

About three minutes later, he was down.

"Took you long enough," she said as she rolled her eyes when he walked towards her.

"With that attitude, I'll be going back to bed thank you very much."

"Right, so this letter-"

"Are you mad, Granger? We can't do this here. Follow me," he said as he began to make his way round to the side of the house. He leaned up against the wall, arms folded and then raised his eyebrows at her, encouraging her to speak.

"This morning I received this letter from Malfoy. Half of its contents are irrelevant to you and so I will not reveal them to you. Nor will I tell you his intentions for sending it to me."

"I didn't ask for a whole fucking disclaimer, just get on with it."

Hermione took a deep breath and continued.

"He charmed it, so I can only tell you from memory what it is he wrote."

"Again, don't care."

After taking another deep breath and clearing her throat, Hermione related the Viktor Krum affair to him in full, including the fact that he said to speak to Theo if she was in any doubt of its truth.

"So, Theo, please relieve me of my suffering and tell me it's not true."

Theo remained entirely composed throughout her recount of half the letter's contents, although his complexion may have paled slightly.

"I hate to cause you any pain, but it is unfortunately all true. Trust me, Hermione, I wish it were all a lie myself but I sadly was a witness to it all, being a guest at Malfoy Manor during that time." 

That was it. He had confirmed it. Viktor Krum had murdered Andromeda Tonks.

"I will kill him," she whispered, eyes blank and her face white. "I will kill him the moment I step foot in Hogwarts."

Theo scoffed nervously: "Won't work, Malfoy already tried to."

"What?" She blurted, her curiosity immediately aroused.

"The account that Draco gave you is all entirely true. But it is not the whole truth. He has quite blatantly left out certain parts that I believe you ought to know," he said. It was his turn this time to clear his throat and take a deep breath.

"After Viktor murdered Andromeda Tonks, her daughter had absolutely nobody left in her life. She was all alone. Her father had died years prior and now she had witnessed her own mother's murder. Her mother's side of the family had disowned Andromeda and so she had no relatives she could go to there. She didn't know any of her father's muggle family. She was not only orphaned, but completely alone and permanently damaged. Viktor Krum was immediately sent to Durmstrang without another word and Tonks was to live permanently at Hogwarts until she came of age.

The day before she was to leave for Hogwarts, she burst into Draco's room, where he and I were comparing our new Hogwarts uniforms that we had just bought. Her eyes were full of tears and she was completely distraught. Broken. Draco and I looked at each other in confusion - this was all too much for little eleven year old boys to understand. But we listened to her as she sobbed to us.

_I have nobody left. You know I would not come otherwise. Take it away from me, please. What did I do to deserve all this?_

Those words I will never forget.

She begged, implored, pleaded to be obliviated of the unhappy event. She knew that she couldn't get any of her family members back, but all she wanted was to believe that her mother had at least died peacefully. She couldn't live with the fact that she had witnessed her mother's murder.

He knew what the implications of obliviating her were and he was reluctant to do it. But the pain - that agonising pain - in her voice was unbearable and so he consented. She was only a few years older than either of us. And while we had been told to loathe her and her mother for what they were, he had to do it. Or he would have never forgiven himself.

Ever since then, Draco has not stopped fighting for Andromeda's justice and for Viktor's condemnation. He began by piecing up evidence, trying to build a case against him. When his father found out, he was furious and destroyed all the evidence. Draco was not to put his own family in danger because of a worthless blood traitor who had been disowned by her own family.

As I revealed before, he even tried to kill Viktor. While Viktor was in Bulgaria, Malfoy could do nothing, but once that wretched murderer stepped foot in Hogwarts, Draco waited until he could get him alone. He hexed him, tortured him and was even about to use the killing curse on him when Snape caught him. Snape obliviated Viktor and kept him in a hidden part of the hospital wing until he recovered. You may have noticed his strange absence at one point and that he stopped speaking to you for a while, pursuing Fleur Delacour instead. That is because Malfoy said he would not hesitate to end him if he ever came near you again. When he did at the Halloween dinner, he knew he couldn't beat the shit out of Viktor, let alone kill him, in front of everyone so he reacted in the only way he could, by tapping Fleur Delacour on the shoulder and leading her out.

So, as you see Granger, Malfoy left out a few crucial details, perhaps due to how personal they are to him. And I suppose they demonstrate a side of him he wishes to conceal to the world. Perhaps it was not my place to inform you of this, but I did what Malfoy should have done. I cannot permit you to think him in the wrong, as you did before. However, of everything he and I have said to you, you must keep absolutely silent. No one can hear a word of it."

Hermione was silent all throughout Theo's speech. So this is why he had made it particularly clear that she should not say a word to Tonks. But more than this, it showed her a side of him that she had never seen before. That Draco Malfoy were capable of empathy and compassion - especially in regards to the daughter of a disowned 'blood traitor' - astounded her. She could see why he had not included it in his letter. It seemed that everyday, Draco Malfoy left her more and more speechless. 

"I need to find him," is all she managed to say.

"Yes, I suppose you do," Theo replied.

~

Hermione would have appreciated the immense gardens at Malfoy Manor any other day, but today she could not. Theo had told her that Malfoy was most certainly not in the house and so could be anywhere within a three mile radius. She had looked almost everywhere else. The gardens were her last resort.

Four rectangular Elizabethan courtyards and he had to be in one of them. Her hair was wild in the wind as she ran down the long, winding maze of trees and hedges. Nowhere to be found.

She was exhausted, overwhelmed, famished, helpless, lost, lonely and devastated. She was all these emotions and more. It was so much, that she had to sit down and take a second to breathe.

As she panted, wincing at the bites of the cold air, she looked up at the house. A figure, dressed in the usual black suit, was standing on the roof. Her figure, her person - the one she was looking for - there - there - there he was! She leapt up. She had to get to him.

He was so distant and high up that she could not read his expression, could not even tell if he had seen her, could not understand him. But she had to get to him. She had to speak to him. Be near him. Touch him.

Inside Malfoy Manor she would once again have to venture. Uninvited. A trespasser. But she was prepared and felt no fear.

She ran. The doors opened for her and she shot her way up the stairs, all the way to the top of the house. It was of no concern to her if she got caught. She had one goal, and she was going to achieve it.

A final window to climb through. It was opened for her and a pale, frosty hand reached out to help her through. Cold, so cold. Why, if his skin was like ice did it burn through to her soul when it was pressed against hers?

He pulled her, tugged her through. Transported her out of that dark, gloomy home and out in the most vulnerable place she could be. One single gust of wind could cause her demise.

"What are you doing here, Granger?" His face was full of something.

Hermione didn't reply, still holding onto that hand that had pulled her out into the open, she threw herself in. He then was holding her, his whole body pressed against her as the wind blew against their faces, almost tearing them apart with its force but he only held onto her tighter.

Eyes locked on each other, each breath heavier and hotter. She could feel herself accelerating in every sense: the pounding of her heartbeat, the rush of thoughts inside her head, the pace of the warm daggers cutting in between her legs.

"You don't want this," he whispered but she stopped him, shaking her head violently.

"No, Draco, I need yo-"

He didn't let her finish. In one sole word, she had told him everything. His name in between her lips. He grabbed her by the back of the neck and drew her into him, forcefully but not hostilely. When he brought her into him, she had crossed that decisive boundary. There was no turning back now.

But neither hesitated for even a second; they were guided entirely by instinct. She allowed herself to fall within him entirely. Instead of losing herself, she discovered herself in his embrace, in his touch, in his kiss.

When his mouth was on hers, he felt warmth for the first time in his life. He couldn't pull away. It was everything he had ever wanted in his life. He craved it and thrived off of it in selfish pleasure. In that moment, Hermione Granger was his.

In those late autumn nights in the Slytherin dorms that he had unwillingly imagined him kissing her, he always made it uncomfortable, fumbling and awkward. But then, on that rooftop in the early hours of the December frost, her unknown and incomprehensible body had become his first language. He was fluent in her: touching ever sensitive spot on her body, tracing the outline of her curves, pressing his tongue against hers as their mouths moved in perfect synchronisation.

She wanted that moment to be endless. Every single concern was driven out of her by the rhythmic lapping of his wet tongue. He broke away slightly and bit down hard onto her bottom lip. She half winced, half moaned at the unbearable mixture of pleasure and pain that he caused in her.

The letter slipped out from between her fingers and was carried away by the current of the wind.

"You'll be quiet, Granger, or I'll have to shut you up myself."

His eyes were staring deep into her, penetrating every essence of her soul. Her thoughts were so clouded by desire that she couldn't speak. The panting of her breath and the desperate gloss of her eyes were her only reply.

"Fuck," he muttered. "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you desire me. Like you want to feel every inch of me inside you. Like you want me."

His words. He was always so good with his words, yet he was always taking her words away from her, leaving her speechless. But she didn't mind it. She wanted him to take every part of her.

"I want," she began, fearful of what she was relating to the world. She couldn't admit it. It was too soon and she wasn't in control of herself. She had to take a step back. "I want this, but-"

That was her mistake. Any warmth he had acquired was expelled from his body and any light emptied from his eyes. They were grey and full of nothing like the sky.

"Oh I see, you want this but you don't want me. Well, thanks for stopping by, Granger, you can fuck off to your little Gryffindor friends now. Let them know how easy their sacred little mudblood is on my behalf, will you?" he spat.

"You don't mean that," she whispered, her body immobile and her expression dropped.

"How many times do I need to tell you that you don't know the last fucking thing about me?" He shouted with cruel laughter. "You think you know everything, you try to make sense of everything, you try to make it fit your tidy little idea of the world but let me tell you right now that you are severely deluded. You follow behind every dark thing with a mop trying to clean up its mess without realising that the mess is what makes up this world and it is indelible."

"This isn't you, Draco-"

"Don't say my fucking name!" He roared.

"I'll say your name as many times as I please because I know that this isn't you. From the letter, to what Theo told me-"

"What the fuck has Theo told you?" He demanded, eyes red and inflamed with rage.

"Nothing! Just that-"

"Don't you fucking dare lie to me."

"He told me, alright. You know what he told me. If you hadn't wanted him to tell me then why did you want me to confirm the truth with him?"

"I wanted you to believe what I wrote not for him to go and reveal everything about me to you. Where the fuck is he? He's a dead man."

"Dra- Malfoy, stop!" She insisted, grabbing hold of his wrist. He shook her off violently.

"Don't fucking touch me."

"Just listen to me! Please, just listen for once in your fucking life!" She yelled and he stopped. He turned around and looked at her with contempt. "If Theo hadn't told me those things, I would have never come here looking for you. We would have never had this moment - whatever it has become. Your letter and Theo's revelation finally gave me what I needed: a glimpse into the real you."

"The real me is none of your business."

"Let me finish," she stated firmly. "I saw in you something I had never seen before. I felt things I had never felt before. I understood the world in a way I had never understood it before."

"Didn't I just say-"

"So don't you fucking dare assume that just because I am hesitant, just because I am afraid, just because this is all new to me, that I don't want you. But, holy fucking Merlin do you make that hard. You push everyone away but what you don't realise is that in doing so, you'll have soon pushed them off the edge. And then they won't come back to you. Then, you will be all alone."

Silence.

"So make up your mind for once in your goddam life, Malfoy! I have. I know what I want."

Her hot, angry breath vaporised in the stinging air.

"Well, we don't always get what we want and it would be naive to think otherwise," he said, not quite meeting her eye. "I stopped deluding myself years ago; I suggest you do the same."

"Then why did you say those things? Why did you make me believe them?"

"Just go home, Granger."

"Answer me," she said, over pronouncing her words in sheer rage. "You don't get to avoid things when it's convenient to you. So go on, tell me: why do you do it, Malfoy?"

He was silent for a second, looked away briefly and then locked his eyes on hers solemnly.

"Because I relish in the prospect of destroying you."

Those were the sincerest words she had ever heard come out of his mouth. He had said them before, but never like this. She almost saw him. The real him.

"In attempting to destroy me, you are only destroying yourself," she replied. Her anger had dissipated.

"There's nothing left of me anyway," he replied gravely and sincerely once again. His tone was not melancholy or dejected, but it would have been easy to mistake it for being so. His honesty often became synonymous with sorrow. "Go down the exterior stairs, there is no need for you to exit through the Manor."

And with that, he disappeared inside that filthy home and Hermione was left alone in the cold. The winds had finally succeeded in tearing them apart.


	18. Chapter 18

What was supposed to have been a relaxing half term break had ended up being two weeks of hellish stress and disappointment. This was not to say that she wasn't beyond grateful for Tonks and Remus' hospitality - she most certainly was. Had they not been staying in such close proximity to Malfoy Manor, she would have surely had two weeks of paradise and distraction.

After that cruel incident on that cruel November morning, she did not meet any of the Malfoys, or Theodore Nott, for the remainder of her stay at Lusca Lodge. Two days, that was, of peace and indulgence, until Harry and Hermione were due to return to Hogwarts.

They were both terribly sad to leave their hosts and the beautiful county of Wiltshire, and terribly relieved to return to Hogwarts and to their beloved friends. Hopefully, things would return to normal, and - other than the Yule Ball - things would remain remarkably quiet.

Harry and Hermione bought their hosts a beautiful bouquet of flowers and wrote them a sweet message in order to thank them for their kindness and then set off for King's Cross.

The train journey to Hogwarts was busy with news from the half term holiday. One or two new Yule Ball couples had formed over the break and were the topic of much discussion.

Hermione remained mostly silent, only speaking when she was forced to. This was by no means a sign of her not wanting to speak to her friends, although it saddened her to think they might assume so. It was more to do with the fact she had all of a sudden became a vault of secrets and lies. She could not tell them of her half term without revealing that which she most ardently desired to be suppressed - or better still - forgotten. She could not make things up either. When it came to her friends, she did not possess the skill of lying easily. She valued her friends too highly to treat them in such a way. And so, she remained silent.

Luna, it seemed, knew of something between her and Malfoy, but it was unclear exactly what she knew. As far as Hermione was concerned, all she knew was that she had taken off her shoes and dipped her feet in the Great Lake the night of her birthday before returning to Gryffindor Tower. But she knew that wasn't true. Luna was perceptive and intelligent - she wasn't in Ravenclaw for no reason! But thankfully, the girl tended to keep things to herself and so Hermione concluded that she need not worry.

~

He usually rejoiced in leaving Malfoy Manor and returning to Hogwarts. His house never had the status of a home ever since that fateful day.

But at least in his house he could hide himself away from the world and a certain brunette Gryffindor.

Why did she always have to stick her dishevelled head of hair in his business and bother him when he needed to get away? Had she not come, he would never have condescended so disgustingly that afternoon that he visited Lusca Lodge. He would not have revealed his innermost secrets entirely in his letter to her. They would not have kissed on his rooftop.

That kiss. It played over and over in his head. How she had leapt towards him, thrown herself into his arms and how he had pulled her violently into him. The warmth of her mouth, the irresistible movements of her tongue. He wanted all of her in that moment.

And he was stupid enough to tell her so. To make an utter fool of himself. He had got carried away.

Although she seemed to welcome it at first, he thought. And then she took a step back. He couldn't have that. He couldn't have her being unsure. He had willingly made himself so vulnerable in that moment but she just didn't fucking know or perhaps she didn't care enough. Or perhaps it scared her. Talk about Gryffindor courage.

He concluded that he had simply made a mistake in the heat of the moment, driven purely by lust and nothing further. Who in the right mind would have denied a girl who quite literally threw herself at him, begging to be touched?

It meant nothing.

He knew not what evil force had driven him to ask her to the ball. He would no longer let it get the best of him.

The quill his fingers fiddled with would not stay still. It would not stay firm enough for him to scribble away his thoughts, and so while his friends were all chattering away beside him, he remained silent, staring out through the window at the changing landscape. It could hardly stay fixed. It was constantly wavering and switching abruptly. Inconstant. Fickle.

~

They finally arrived at Hogwarts, and the Gryffindors that had been on the train were eager to see the rest of their house that had remained at Hogwarts.

The girls immediately searched for Padma and Parvati, who they knew had not left for the holidays.

Finally, they found Padma.

"Hello there, Padma," Ginny squealed. "We've missed you so much! Where's Parvati?"

"I've missed you lot too," she beamed, pulling them all in for a group hug. "As for Parvati you ask, well I have big, big news!"

She paused for dramatic effect and all three girls leaned in, bursting with curiosity.

"She has eloped with Viktor Krum!"

Hermione's face dropped by about a mile and the blood in her veins ran cold. Not only had this monster killed Andromeda and destroyed Tonks' childhood, but he had now taken one of her dearest friends. She would kill him, she would end him, she would destroy him. Every second became more unbearable - to think he still roamed free! It was impossible.

Luna and Ginny weren't sure how to feel. They both looked at each other in confusion, unsure what to say.

"Oh, come on you lot," Padma chucked. "You could try and look a little happier for her. Isn't this incredible news?"

"No," spoke Hermione. "Not one bit."

"Gosh, I would've hoped for a little more excitement from you lot. Perhaps you're just jealous that my sister actually managed to bag Viktor Krum when you tried and failed miserably."

"That's not what I meant at all."

"Poor little Hermione has lost her little crush to not one, but two other girls. Perhaps it might teach you not to try and steal your bestfriend's love interest."

Hermione was silent, not quite being able to believe what she was hearing.

"That's entirely unfair," said Ginny. "You know Hermione had nothing to do with Ron asking her to the ball, she even rejected him!"

"I can only assume that you three are jealous of Parvati and I because I've got a date to the Yule Ball and Parvati is having the time of her life in Bulgaria," Padma scoffed. "I thought you were supposed to be our friends. Friends support one another instead of being ridden with jealousy."

They had gone to Bulgaria together? It couldn't be. There was no way they could have travelled so far without the teachers saying anything.

"Padma, you're being terribly cruel," said Luna softly. "You know we'd never behave like that. We are your friends."

"I wouldn't know about that anymore," she scowled. "Now if you don't mind, I need to go speak with my boyfriend."

The blonde, the brunette and the ginger were left to stare at each other in awe.

"Bulgaria?" Ginny asked in disbelief when Padma was out of earshot.

"We have to alert the professors, send out a search party, something," Hermione cried. "We cannot waste any time."


	19. Chapter 19

_06:45 in the Gryffindor common room._

Days had passed and no one was able to locate Parvati and Viktor, although Dumbledore said it was clear that they had not indeed gone to Bulgaria. But where they could be was completely unknown.

Hermione looked all over the castle and everywhere in its grounds. She knew it was unlikely they'd be there but she had to be sure. She even tried sending out letters via owl, eventually resorting to her patronus, but nothing seemed to work.

She pulled out the ring that she had kept in her robe pocket ever since Fred and George gave it to her. Would it work? Would it get Parvati back and Viktor Krum finally vindicated? She didn't know, but she kept it as an option.

_You put the ring on and it gives you what you most need in that moment. But use it wisely because it only has one use._

George's words replayed inside her head. 'What you most need in that moment.' What if putting the ring on gave her a psychiatrist and not Parvati’s location? Or a self help book. She could not waste it, as George had warned her.

There was only one other thing she had prevented herself from doing, and that was speaking to someone who knew a lot more about Viktor Krum than herself. She most certainly could not speak to Malfoy about it, not after the catastrophe that was their last interaction. She concluded that she would have to ask Theo when Draco wasn't around.

So she sat down and thought. What did Draco do with his spare time other than use derogatory slurs against other people? He was intelligent, but in a strange way that meant you would hardly ever find him studying or in a library. If he did any of that, he kept it entirely to himself.

In that moment, Harry and Oliver walked past Hermione's spot on one of the red couches, dressed in their Quidditch gear.

"Hiya there Hermione," beamed Harry.

"Hello Harry, hello Oliver," she smiled back. "Off to Quidditch practice?"

"You guessed it," replied Oliver.

That's it - quidditch! Malfoy was the Slytherin seeker. There you go, not all his time was spent making other people's lives miserable!

"Oh, if you don't mind me asking, Oliver," began Hermione. "Do you know what time the Slytherins have their practice today?"

"Sure I do!" he replied with glee, "It's at eight o'clock, straight after our session."

"Brilliant, thank you so much Oliver. And good luck you two!"

They both gave her an appreciative nod as they walked out of the common room. Hermione knew exactly where she would be going at eight o'clock that morning.

~

At ten to eight, Hermione put down the essay she had been working on and made her way out of the common room.

The only students awake at that time would've been keen beans like her and Quidditch players who had practice. Everyone else tended to be fast asleep until around 8:30 am on a Saturday morning.

She crept down the stairs, wound her way through long corridors, crossed little passages until she arrived at the dungeons. If her calculations were correct, it should be around 8:01 am. She had to make sure to arrive a little late, just in case he had been late that day.

Theodore Nott probably wouldn't be awake, but that didn't bother her. She would wake him up and he'd have to deal with it.

A strange feeling of apprehension suddenly hit her as she made her way towards where she knew the entrance to the Slytherin common room was from the last and only time she had been. She remembered how she made a mental note never to return and thought it rather ironic.

She gathered up her courage and knocked firmly. She then took a step back, exhaled sharply and waited for someone to attend to her.

No answer.

After waiting around for a minute or so, she gave the door another, much louder set of knocks. She was determined to stay until somebody opened the door for her, and if she had to knock a thousand times, so be it.

She lifted up her fist to knock again but was instead taken aback by the door being opened, much to her relief.

"Hello there, is Theodore Nott in?" She asked.

The door now opened more widely and she saw who it was that had opened it.

"You," she gasped.

Draco Malfoy was standing behind the door, his eyes squinting suspiciously at her. He made no reply, only stared at her.

He had a leather-bound pad of parchment in his grasp, which he quickly slipped into his blazer pocket.

"No, no, this cannot be. Oliver said the Slytherin quidditch team had practice at eight o'clock and that boy most certainly knows his quidditch - he cannot have got it wrong. Lord, if I had known I would have never come."

"Seekers weren't needed today," he replied monotonously.

Just her luck.

"Right, I guess I'll be going then, just forget this ever happened, alright?"

She turned to walk away but he grabbed her arm, forcing her back around. His firm grasp hurt her slightly but she made sure not to let it show.

"Why did you come here?"

"As I said, I thought you were-"

"No. Why did you need to speak to Theo? What's going on there?" He inquired forcefully. It was evident that he was trying at all costs to remain calm but that it wasn't necessarily working.

"It's really none of your business."

He ignored her comment and continued.

"Why did you need to see Theo at a time I would specifically not be around? Why did you go out of you way for me to not be here? What the fuck are you two playing at?"

"So that's your immediate assumption. That I'm fucking your best friend, right, of course, typical."

"Don't fucking say that."

"What do you mean? It's obviously not true."

"I don't give a shit if it's not true. I don't want those words coming out of your mouth."

"Since when do you care so much about what I choose to do with my mouth, huh?" She asked, wanting to push him, wanting to threaten him.

He inhaled sharply and attempted to compose himself.

"Just answer my question. Why did you come here?"

"You really want to know, huh?" she asked. "Alright then, I'll tell you. One of my closest friends, Parvati Patil, has run away, has eloped, has thrown herself in the power of Viktor Krum. I discovered this news a few days ago. My friends and I alerted the professors and a search for them has been ongoing but neither of them have been found. I am afraid that she is lost forever."

Malfoy remained superficially composed but she could see the agitation that was filling his eyes.

"I see the issue here. How long have they been gone?"

"About a week or so. Initially, Padma said they had gone to Bulgaria but that has been proven not to be true."

"And why did you not think to inform me of this?"

"Well, I couldn't - I couldn't," she stuttered, unsure how to reply to the entirely unfair question. "I couldn't speak to you after what happened."

"You should have told me immediately."

"I know, but -"

"Well thank you for informing me so promptly, Granger. You can have nothing else keeping you here now."

"So what, you're not going to do anything about it? You're just going to accept it and what - move on?"

He looked at her as if she was some rare bird perched on his window sill.

"You really love to make assumptions, don't you?"

She looked down at the floor and did not reply.

"Goodbye, Granger."

"Wait-"

The slamming of the door cut her off. Feeling entirely dissatisfied, Hermione returned to the common room where she met her friends and went down for breakfast.

~

Once they got to the Great Hall, it was very clear that they were all trying to avoid the subject of Viktor and Parvati. The past few days had not been the best for Gryffindor House.

Padma still hadn't spoken to the girls, choosing instead to spend all her time with Neville. Ginny, Luna and even Hermione had all tried to speak to her, to clear the air but she would hear none of it, so they eventually gave up.

In her defence, Hermione liked to think that perhaps now that the whole event had blown up so much, that Padma had realised just how serious it actually was and was too afraid to admit it.

Hermione couldn't help but look over at the Slytherin table every now and then, just too see what Malfoy was doing. But he wasn't there. All his friends were: Pansy, Theo, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle and Astoria. But no Draco.

And weirdly enough, the same thing happened at lunch, then at dinner, then the whole of the next day. Malfoy simply wasn't there.

Where on Earth could he have gone in such a terrible moment as this? All Hogwarts students needed to be in solidarity and he had just taken off. Was it for attention? She couldn't tell.

Anyway, back to that breakfast in the Great Hall. Blaise Zabini had decided to approach the Gryffindor table, much to everyone's (particularly Luna's) astonishment.

"Good morning Miss Lovegood," he said with a slight quiver in his voice. "Oh, and good morning everybody else."

He gave a pleasant nod to the table in general, which most people returned.

"Good morning Mr Zabini," Luna replied quietly,  
looking slightly confused, but perhaps a little hopeful too.

It took him a while to start speaking again. He was staring helplessly at Luna.

"I hope you are well, Miss Lovegood?"

"I am," she replied. "And you? Are you well?"

"Oh, yes, I thank you," he said awkwardly, shaking and looking at his feet. He then took a deep breath and started once again. "Miss Lovegood, would you do me the honour of taking a turn in the gardens?"

Luna was slightly taken aback, but it was impossible to mistake her joy in that moment. Her eyes were filled with glee and excitement. But she could tell a certain lack of understanding in them too, as though she could not quite understand why it had taken him so long.

Ginny quickly touched her hand and gave her a slight look as if to say: "Don't forget how he has treated you." Or perhaps: "Be careful, Luna."

But they didn't know what Malfoy had told her. They didn't know that Blaise had been entirely deceived by Malfoy and Pansy. The thought restored such an anger in her, one she had thought she had gotten over, and she was forced to contain herself.

What she couldn't understand was why Blaise had suddenly started talking to Luna again. Was it because Malfoy was absent? But there were plenty of other moments in which Malfoy wasn't there that Blaise could have taken advantage of, so it couldn't have been that. Moreover, Pansy was sitting just across from them, staring at the pair furiously. It really just didn't make sense.

Perhaps Blaise had decided to think for himself instead of putting other people's desires before his own.

Blaise gave Luna his hand and lifted her up from her seat, where she had just finished her food. She linked her arm through the loop of his own one and the walked out of the hall, both beaming widely at one another.

The event had been much needed that morning, as the topic of discussion finally moved away from a sadder event to an undoubtedly happier one. It was all anybody could talk about for the remainder of the day, and many days to follow.


	20. Chapter 20

The start of December was approaching, meaning that the Yule Ball was only some three or four weeks away. Quite naturally, there was flood of new couples forming and funnily enough, most of them turned to Hermione for advice.

The first was Harry.

Hermione was studying late in the library when Harry Potter approached her nervously. He was shaking a little and quite visibly uncomfortable.

"Hermione," he spoke, causing Hermione to look up from her textbook and give her friend a smile.

"Hi there, Harry, what are you doing here so late?" She asked.

"Looking for you, actually."

"Oh," she said, looking puzzled. "What could you possibly need me for at this time of the night?"

"I couldn't sleep. I kept thinking of this one thing that I really need to get off my chest."

"Oh goodness, it's nothing bad I hope? I don't want to be too invasive, but do you mind telling me what it is?"

"Nothing bad, I promise. It might have been easier to deal with, actually, had it been bad."

"Harry you're confusing me now, just spit it out."

"I'm scared, I'm scared to admit it. You know how shy I am," he croaked. "But I guess I ought to say."

Hermione gestured for him to continue and with a deep breath he complied.

"I am in love with Ginny."

She could not help bust gasp; she had not seen that coming at all. She had always thought Harry had a thing for one of the Ravenclaws, Cho Chang.

"You look worried, oh no, what, does she not like me back?"

A thought then struck her.

_Butter beer, crocheted scarves and ink-stained parchment._

At the time, she thought Ginny felt something for Neville, but her amortentia smell had confused her entirely. And then she realised: Ginny had been describing Harry.

"Completely the opposite, I think you'll find," she assured him. "But I cannot say too much. Go find her, tell her how you feel and ask her to the Yule Ball."

"Thank you, Hermione," he cried, overjoyed. "I am going to go do it right now."

"Harry, Harry, calm down," she chuckled. "Ginny's sleeping - you really don't want to wake her up in the middle of the night or she will definitely reject you. Plus, you're too excited right now. Sleep it over and ask her with a fresh, well slept mind tomorrow morning."

"You're right. Thank you so much, Mione."

"No worries."

The next morning, Ginny and Harry broke the news that they were now each other's dates for the Yule Ball and everyone congratulated them warmly, despite being rather surprised at the pairing initially.

"Who asked who?" Seamus inquired.

"Oh, I had been planning on asking Ginny - I even went to Hermione for advice - but in then end..."

"I asked him," Ginny beamed.

"It was the strangest thing," continued Harry. "Because we both met in the common room this morning, looking at each other strangely."

"I was obviously the one to speak first. Harry isn't very good at these things."

"No, I suppose not," he admitted.

"But anyway, we're now dating!"

Everybody cheered and gave their personal congratulations to the couple. Every day that passed, anticipation for the Yule Ball increased.

~

A few days passed.

Ginny and Harry were the most adorable couple Hermione had ever seen. It was clear they both liked each other very much - Harry had even confessed to Hermione that he loved her - but they went about their relationship in a much more private and less performative way (unlike Ron and Lavender, who were still snogging just as much two months into the relationship as before).

Hermione was walking down one of the corridors, analysing this when she was stopped by Theodore Nott.

"Right, Hermit, I'm going to need your help this time round."

"Wow, Theo, not even a please."

"Shut up, I am perfectly well mannered."

"I respectfully disagree."

"Alright then, now take some time to be respectfully silent and hear me out," he retorted. His voice then turned to a whisper: "Remember what I said to you, about you know who?"

"What, Voldy?"

"Pansy, for fuck's sake," he said in frustration.

"No, not too sure I remember," she said in false confusion.

"Don't mess with me, Granger."

"Only if you'll truthfully answer one of my questions."

"Is this how all our interactions have to be?" He said half laughingly, half in disbelief. "But, fine, whatever."

"They do. Go on then."

"Well, you see, I want to ask Pansy to the ball."

"Okay, do it then."

"Brilliant advice, Granger, thank you from the bottom of my heart."

"What? I've told you before how I think she feels about you. I don't need to tell you again."

"How do I do it?"

"I don't know, Theo, maybe just go up to her and ask her?" She said sarcastically.

"You know what, fine, I'll just do that. Could've thought of that myself but whatever. Cheers, Hermit," he said and began to walk off.

"Not so fast - you haven't answered my question."

"Well you didn't do such a good job at answering mine so-"

"Where is Malfoy?"

Theo looked as though he had been expecting the question and now seemed reluctant to answer it.

"You chose the one question I cannot answer."

"He's been gone for over a week now," she cried. "It doesn't make sense."

"I'm sorry, Granger," he replied with full solemnity and sincerity. "I really am."

"It's not like I care or anything, I'm just confused. Our last interaction was so strange."

"You can say what you want, Granger," he said soberly. "But you cannot say that."

"Say what?"

But he had already gone.

~

The next couple to be confirmed was Blaise and Luna. Thankfully, neither had gone up to Hermione to ask for help. Blaise had figured it out on his own.

Luna broke the news to Hermione when they were lying side by side in bed, filling her in on the exact details of how he had asked.

"Oh, Hermione, it was the most wonderful thing. The past few days that I have spent with him have been heaven on earth. He took me to my favourite spot in the woods, made a little fire and we roasted marshmallows. He had brought a fluffy blanket and we cuddled up closely within it. And then he kissed me for the first time and it was absolutely magical. I could feel it all the way down to my toes. Then, he pulled away, told me: _You're ethereal, Luna_. After this, he proceeded to ask me if I would do him the honour of being his date to the ball, to which I consented, obviously. We're not officially 'together' like some of the other couples, just dates so far. We're taking things very slow and naturally, which is just perfect."

"Luna that sounds like the most sensational Yule Ball proposal of all time. And you truly deserve it - I really could not be happier for you. You are the kindest, most loving girl in the world and you have been rewarded with a rare kind of love that the rest of us can only imagine ever experiencing."

"You speak too kindly of me, Hermione," said Luna, unable to take the compliment.

"I speak kindly but honestly of you, Luna. I mean, just take a look at me. I'm complicated, stubborn, and often find myself being unwillingly prejudiced. There is a reason why I am one of the last girls left without a date."

"Don't say such things! Ron had asked you and Viktor Krum was very close to doing so."

There had been one more person, but on this matter Hermione kept quiet.

"Please do not remind me of my interactions with Viktor Krum. I am so obscenely repulsed by them."

"What on earth do you mean?"

"I have not told anyone of this and you must promise me to do the same. I am only telling you because I trust you entirely and I think I might just explode if I cannot get this weight off my shoulders. This information I discovered whilst I was staying at Lusca Lodge with Harry and I am afraid it will shock you most violently, so please prepare yourself accordingly."

And so she began, telling her friend the story in full, wincing at the reminder of certain details she was all too willing to forget. Luna remained silent all throughout Hermione's speech, apart from a small series of gasps that she tried to contain.

"Please, please tell me that it is not true. Viktor Krum - a murderer? Lord, it cannot be."

"I could scarcely believe it myself when I first heard it and then it was confirmed to me. And now he is with our poor Parvati and Merlin knows where."

"Oh, poor Draco Malfoy, to be thus treated and to have to live with such a tragedy. And poor Tonks and poor Andromeda. No, Hermione, I simply cannot believe it, you must have been deceived. He is a good man, I am sure of it."

"Luna, dear, you cannot make both Malfoy and Krum good as much as you might wish to. There is only enough goodness between the two to make one sort of good man. And I believe that goodness belongs entirely to Draco Malfoy."

Hermione's voice was tinged with sorrow and perhaps some sense of regret.

"But, there is such an appearance of goodness in Viktor's countenance. He fooled us all," said Luna, still in shock.

"I'm afraid one has got all the goodness and the other all the appearance of it."

"But, Hermione, Draco Malfoy isn't good."

"No Luna, you're right. He is not good. Perhaps you're the wrong person to be saying this to because you are the best person that I know. But that is not to say that you are not without flaws. Everyday that I live and grow up in this world, I see all these binary constructions. All these things that we have been taught since birth to be infallibly true. And what I see is how fucking stupid they are. It's not a truth universally acknowledged that any honourable Gryffindor would never associate themselves with a Slytherin. It is not true that a Slytherin is, entirely unequivocally, the epitome of all that which is corrupt and deplorable within the world. It is not impossible to disagree. None of us are perfect. None of us are good. We all have something wrong with us, something that we hate or others hate or something that ruins and corrupts us. Some people are simply better at hiding it than others. It has taken me so long to understand that. So long to unlearn what I have been taught. But I fear it is too late. And that's what we humans do: we make up for things, we apologise, we change our behaviour all when it is too late. We push the extent of our negative actions to the brink and it is only when we are falling over the edge that we think how much we might like to go back and fix everything. But it's too late. It cannot be fixed."

"It's not too late, Hermione," replied Luna, her voice smooth and silky.

They soon sailed off to sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

Nobody had seen Draco Malfoy for over a week by this point. Parvati and Krum had been gone for over two weeks. Luna had lied; it was too late.

Hermione noticed a gradual change in Padma's expression. She still avoided any conversation with her roommates, only speaking when forced to. However, the more time that passed, the more melancholy and pensive Padma seemed to become. Hermione wasn't sure if perhaps she was having some trouble with Neville or if it had to do with something else entirely. But she was most definitely concerned for her friend, even if they had fallen out.

The girls were all in their dorm getting ready for a quidditch match between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff was due to take place that day. They painted their faces with gold and red paint, threw on their hats, scarves and gloves, making sure to wrap up warm as they would get very cold from sitting in the spectator seating area.

Ginny had left some twenty minutes prior, being one of the team's chasers.

Padma kept looking at the girls but looking away when she met their eye. She was behaving rather strangely.

"Are you alright, Padma?" Hermione asked.

Padma burst into tears.

"No," she replied through her tears. "I can't pretend that I am any longer. I just really want to apologise for having treated you all so terribly, particularly for the things I said. You were right all along to be concerned. I hadn't expected her to be gone this long. And to not write, to not reassure me - nothing. I am so afraid that something might have gone wrong and I really just need my friends right now. I have been so awful and I really don't deserve your forgiveness, so I understand if you don't want to speak to me again."

The two girls looked at each other, nodded and went over to her with their arms stretched out.

"We are always here for you, Padma," said Luna. "Of course we forgive you, you made an honest mistake."

"Please don't worry about us or what you said. It's all forgotten," said Hermione. "All we need to think of now is Parvati."

"Yes, that's all we need to do," she repeated, drying off her tears with the end of her scarf.

"Come on, no more tears or you'll smudge all your face paint," said Luna. "Let's get you cleaned up now."

Luna did a quick incantation that restored Padma's face paint to its original perfection.

"Are we all ready to go then?" Asked Hermione.

"Oh hang on, I almost forgot my lion hat!" Exclaimed Luna, pulling it out from under the bed she shared with Hermione.

They then set off for the quidditch pitch.

~

Hufflepuff took the win this time round, with Cedric Diggory catching the golden snitch when he fell down from his broom. Harry almost took hold of it, but Hermione could see that his thoughts in that moment lay elsewhere.

The Gryffindors were all left rather upset, but not excessively so because they saw how well their own team had played and how close of a call it had been.

All except Oliver Wood, who had tried to drown himself in the nearest puddle. It took five people to slap some sense into him.

Hermione was a little concerned for Harry, noticing his rather strange and unfocused behaviour on the pitch and so she excused herself from her friends and made her way down to the Quidditch changing room to make sure Harry was okay.

She was just turning into the main part of the changing room when she hard some rather peculiar muffled sounds. What on earth was going on in there? She ventured in deeper and when she spotted the source of these sounds, her mouth dropped and she was unable to move.

Two shadows, that showed through the curtain of one of the changing stalls, were shaking up and down. One of the heads was thrown back and the other was thrusting into the other.

"Fuck, yes, Fred, just like that, keep it going," panted a feminine voice that she couldn't quite recognise.

Angelina Johnson, perhaps? No, surely not.

Hermione was now convinced that she would be scarred for life. She had just overheard her one of her close friends - Fred Weasley of all people - getting down and dirty in the quidditch changing rooms. It was absolutely repulsive - she felt as if she were about to projectile vomit. She immediately turned around to run the hell away from those changing rooms. She could speak to Harry later.

When she turned around to run away, she rather unwillingly found herself colliding with someone who had just come in.

"Sorry about that," she mumbled, not looking up to meet the person's eye but from the quidditch uniform they were wearing, she could tell they were part of the Hufflepuff team.

"Hermione?" said a rather familiar voice.

She immediately looked up at the figure and found that it to be the six foot one Hufflepuff team captain and seeker. His hair was damp with sweat, his skin glowing and streaked with slashes of mud. His uniform was squalid and slightly torn.

"Oh my goodness, Cedric, hi," she stuttered, slightly taken aback. "Gosh, it's been a while, hasn't it? Congratulations on the win by the way, you guys did really well."

"Thank you, Hermione," he replied with a smile that displayed his perfect teeth. "The Gryffindors did great too."

"Yeah, yeah they di-"

Hermione stopped mid sentence when Cedric began to remove his dirty jumper. Why was she so shocked? This was a changing room after all - a unisex changing room - this was entirely normal. But the warm tone of the light defined his perfectly toned body in such a way that she could not help herself but to look at him. His skin was glistening.

"Sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?" he asked, slightly concerned.

"Oh, no, not at all," she replied breathlessly. "Please do carry on."

"I hope you don't mind me asking," he began, as he sat down to undo his shoelaces. "But why exactly are you here?"

"Well I needed to speak to Harry but an interesting little performance over there prevented me from finding him," she said jokingly, nodding over to the changing stall that hadn't ceased to emit all sorts of erotic sounds.

"Oh, that?" Cedric chuckled. "You get used to it after years of quidditch."

"You mean to say that's normal?"

"I wouldn't say normal," he replied with a smile. "Just to be expected."

He was just about to remove his trousers and Hermione was staring at him, transfixed before she came to her senses.

"Merlin, sorry," she mumbled, turning around immediately. “How terribly rude of me."

"Oh don't worry, I don't mind, I just thought you might."

Why did she get herself in these sorts of situations? Why, just why?

"You can turn around now," he said.

He was covered only from the waist down by a white towel tied at his side. She could now see more of his stomach - his abs - and the v shape that converged to a certain bulge that stuck out rather prominently.

"Fuck," she whispered under her breath, only realising she had spoken aloud when Cedric blinked harshly upon hearing her. She immediately began to apologise but Cedric only looked at her inquisitively. His face, already glowing from the sweat and mud, displayed both an expression of deep thought and something like hope, she thought.

"I should not have stopped trying to get through to you after that morning outside the Transfigurations classroom. You have not escaped my mind since."

She couldn't quite believe it. To think that she had had such an impression on him - what could he possibly mean?

"Oh please don't remind me of that. I was so terribly rude to you. I was just having a bad day - it was nothing personal, I promise."

"I've been such an idiot," he whispered, massing his temple as he paced back and forth. "All this time I thought I had done something wrong, that you didn't like me. I shouldn't have given up."

Hermione could feel her heartbeat quickening and her eyes fluttering. She couldn't help but feel complimented by the fact that somebody finally wanted her. Somebody finally wasn't afraid to tell her how they felt.

"You're so intelligent, so caring, so beautiful," he panted, his breath getting heavier as reached out to stroke the side of her face. His hands were rough and calloused from his Quidditch playing, but not unpleasantly so.

"Thank you," she replied meekly, not knowing what else to say. She wasn't used to receiving compliments and so was most certainly out of her comfort zone.

"I need to shower now, Hermione," he said, looking slightly unhappy but also peculiarly wishful. "So, I suppose I'll see you later ... unless you wish to come with me."

Hermione almost choked on the air she was inhaling, her facing turning scarlet red at his request. Was this the Cedric Diggory she thought she knew? Never would she have him to have such a seductive side to him.

The only thing stopping her in that moment was some rather unwanted and quite frankly rather embarrassing feelings for a blond Slytherin wizard that haunted her every thought. Would he ever want her if he knew she had been with Cedric? Would he ever care for her?

She stopped herself. Why on earth should she care about Draco Malfoy thought? The wizard clearly didn't have any substantial feelings for her so why did it even cross her mind that this encounter could somehow hinder a potential connection between them? She was being completely irrational.

One of the most popular and best looking wizards in the whole of Hogwarts was inviting her into the shower with him after he had just caught the golden snitch. He was a quidditch legend, revered by almost every student - and teacher. There was no reason why she should say no.

"Merlin, I don't know why I asked that," Cedric said, starting to panic at her lack of response. "Something came over me in that moment, it was entirely stupid and disrespectful. Please do forgive me."

So respectful and humble - so unlike that proud, arrogant pureblood prick. He could treat her well; he could cherish her.

"No, please don't apologise," she said, her cheeks flushing red.

"I must apologise nonetheless. It was too soon. I haven't even asked you on a date yet or anything. Merlin, what must you think of me?"

"You have only made a good impression so far, I assure you."

Cedric took in a deep breath and then looked Hermione deep in the eye.

"Hermione Granger, you are the most incredible, talented and breathtaking witch in the whole of the Wizarding World. I should have asked you this - I wanted to ask you this - a long time ago, but various factors prevented me from doing so. But now I know rather clearly what it is I must do. Hermione Granger, will you be my date to the Yule Ball?"

Hermione was silent for a few moments, completely unsure how to react, what to say or do. The Yule Ball was so soon and pretty much everybody else had a date by this point. Who else would have asked her? She hated this thought process. It was perfectly acceptable for her to attend the ball without a date. She had far too much dignity to attend it with some person she didn't care about. This seemed altogether too superficial and performative for her liking. She was convinced that only a true genuine interest, perhaps even a liking, for a person would induce her to take up a date for the ball.

The other person, who had previously asked her, now could not care less for her. He had disappeared for some two weeks now. Clearly, there was something else going on there. He would have never asked her to the ball now.

Cedric Diggory, on the other hand, was all that a girl could ask for in a boy. He was talented, well-mannered, kind, undoubtedly good looking and pure of heart. She was interested in him, right? Surely that was enough to constitute an adequate date by her standards?

"I will," she replied quietly.

Cedric's face lit up and he laughed lightly - so innocently and beautifully - showing once again his pearly white teeth. He went to pull Hermione into him but realised her was all sweaty and dirty and so stopped himself. He didn't want to contaminate her or ruin her clothes.

"Brilliant, I am so glad," he smiled. "I've really got to go shower now, so I'll catch up with you later."

"Of course," she said, forcing a smile.

She immediately regretted what she had done. It was completely unfair on him. How could she accept him when all her thoughts, her dreams, her deepest desires were directed towards Draco Malfoy? She couldn't even go back on her word because she could not quite bring herself to destroy that perfectly innocent and radiant look on his face.

But the other side of her was convinced that she had made the right decision. Draco Malfoy did not care for her. It was time for her to move on with her life and start exploring other options. This boy here actually made it clear that he liked her. Obviously, Cedric Diggory was the correct option.

Not entirely convinced with her conclusion, she fled from the changing rooms that she should have left long ago. Fred and his mystery girl were still going at it as Hermione left, much to her disgust.

She made a mental note not to return to the quidditch changing rooms.


	22. Chapter 22

On her way back to the castle, she saw Harry walking around slowly, disconcertingly so. His face was deep in thought and he seemed almost unwell.

"Harry, Harry is that you?" She asked as she ran over to him. "What are you doing out here? Why aren't you in the changing rooms? What's going wrong?"

"It's him," he said, his expression blank and his eyes immobile. "Voldemort. He's back, I know it. He's back."

Harry's words struck her with such a force that all she could do for some time was shake her head and try to make sense of the devastating news.

"No, no, Harry, you must be wrong, it simply cannot be. It's impossible, isn't it? It can't happen. Who told you this?"

"Nobody told me. I've been dreaming."

"Oh, Harry, they must just be nightmares, just bad dreams. Nothing to worry about."

"No, Hermione," he replied forcefully, his gaze only now moving away from the floor. "They're not just any old trivial dream. I am having them more and more frequently. Somebody is trying to tell me something."

"I believe you, Harry, I really do-"

"No, Hermione, it's not a case of believing me or not believing me. It's a case of acting before anything else happens."

"Anything else? What's happened? What do you mean?"

"Two muggle-borns were killed the other day. Unknown murderer."

This is what she had feared. This is the greatest fear that she had been suppressing for so long. This. Not even so much a fear for herself, but for those around her. For her parents.

"That could be anyone. It does not mean that you know who is back" she whispered, although not quite believing what she was saying.

"There is no point in denying it. We aren't safe any more."

"We're here at Hogwarts - we're safe, don't worry," she lied once again.

"You know that's not true. Hogwarts will never be safe whilst the death eaters are still around."

His words chilled her to the bone. Her school, her friends, her home. It had been invaded by darkness and would never be the same.

"Let's get back to the castle now," she suggested, taking her friend's hand.

"No, just let me stay here and think for a little while."

She nodded understandingly and let go of him.

"Promise me you won't be long, or you know I'll worry."

"I promise."

~

As Hermione walked back, her thoughts were consumed by anguish and apprehension. She so deeply wished for it not to be true. When her tear-streaked face returned to the Gryffindor tower, she was shocked to find everyone gathering round a single space in the common room.

"What's going on?" she asked as she pushed her way to the front.

It was Parvati Patil, sitting on one of the sofas with her head bowed down to the floor and her hands covering her face. This was the last thing she had been expecting to see, but despite her initial astonishment, she was overjoyed to find her friend had returned safely. But the poor girl - everybody was shouting things in her direction and she was quite clearly overwhelmed.

"Everybody shut the hell up!" Hermione bellowed and the common room fell silent. "I cannot believe you lot. One of our dearest friends has just returned after being missing for over two weeks. Don't you think she's gone through enough already? Do you really think your shouting is helping in any way? I know we all have certain opinions on the matter, but at least for today could you have the decency to keep them to yourselves whilst we welcome our friend home?"

A few people in the crowd nodded and most faces were visibly rather disappointed with themselves.

"Come on, Parvati," Hermione said sympathetically, holding her hand out to her friend who took it after some thought. "Let's go to our dorm where we can have some peace and quiet. You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to. Let's just get you out of here for now."

"Thank you, Mione," Parvati said almost inaudibly, sniffing a little too. "You are such a good friend."

"Don't thank me," she replied. "Do you know where your sister or Luna and Ginny are?"

To this, Parvati shook her head. "If I had known, I would have gone straight to them."

"Alright, never mind, they'll be here in no time. Let's just go upstairs for now."

Once Hermione had shut the door to their dorm behind her, Parvati broke down in tears. It was clear she had been holding them back previously.

Poor, poor girl. While she had been terribly foolish to run away with a vile creature like Victor Krum, she could not have known any better. What a terrible, terrible mistake she had made.

"Oh Mione, I never intended for this to happen," she cried.

"He asked me out on a date, which I already thought to be rather strange as I believed he and Fleur Delacour had a thing. Turns out he had never asked her to the ball, so I'm not sure how that rumour came about. Upon hearing this, I gladly agreed to the date.

Merlin, I thought it to be such a compliment! A beautiful, popular, Qudditch sensation from Bulgaria was asking me out! He told me that we would be going for a fun little day trip and I could not be more excited. He was so polite and courteous. I mean, he would kiss my hand and everything!

So the next day, early in the morning, he took me to London and it was all so much fun until, well, it started getting late and we weren't returning back to Hogwarts. When I mentioned to this, he laughed in my face and called me a goody two shoes, so I stayed quiet. I did not want to make a bad impression in front of somebody like him.

After this, he took me to the leaky cauldron, and already I was starting to feel a little anxious and uncomfortable. But _fuck it_ , I thought. _Live will you're young_ , I thought. _This absolute sex god is taking you to an inn for the night and then you'll return to Hogwarts and everybody will be so jealous_ , I thought. So, we arrived and we ended up, well, getting a little frisky. Still, I was convinced that the next morning I would be back in Scotland.

However, the next morning when I woke, Viktor was already up, sitting in an armchair and staring at me. I felt so violated. But still, I asked him if we would be going back now and he told me that he had no intention of returning to Hogwarts. He called it a filthy place. He mentioned Draco Malfoy and how much he wished never to see him again, which I thought to be rather odd but I dared not question him.

I ran over to the door and tried to yank it open, both through force and magic. But neither worked. He had locked the door, charmed it, and set up a ward.

He forced me to owl my sister a letter saying that he and I were eloping to Bulgaria. I was to assure her that I was perfectly happy and well, and not to come looking for me. This was the last contact I was to have with anybody from Hogwarts. I will spare you the details of the rest of the time I spent there, Hermione, but this is a short summary of what I experienced. Merlin, who knew him to be such a monster? How could a man so universally admired be so foul?"

Hearing Parvati’s words made Hermione wince with pain. It reminded her of Malfoy's letter, of everything that had happened at Malfoy Manor. She could not tell Parvati of it though, she had been instructed strictly not to. And what use was it now? Everybody would soon know him to be a villain. Oh, if only she had known sooner she could have told Parvati and all this would have been prevented. But there was nothing to be done.

"I believe we were all very much deceived by his character," reflected Hermione solemnly. "Goodness gracious, Parvati, I am so terribly sorry for what happened to you. Just know that I am always here for you, as will your sister, Luna and Ginny."

"But, do you forgive me?" she asked with a tinge of sadness.

"Forgive you? Oh, Parvati there is nothing to forgive. Do not blame yourself for what happened one bit. It is all entirely his fault and he will be condemned for it. He will."

"I hope so, Hermione," she replied. "I was taken straight to Dumbledore when I arrived. I broke down and told him everything. I feared he would expel me - he had every reason to. But he only gave me a detention for having left the grounds and seemed more concerned about finding Viktor Krum than of punishing me. I believe Dumbledore will take the matter into his hands."

It was in this moment that the door burst open and Padma, Luna and Ginny all rushed into the room. Upon seeing Parvati, they all rushed towards her and embraced her tightly.

"You idiot, you idiot," cried Padma, tears staining her cheeks. "You had me so worried, so unbelievably worried."

"We are so glad to see that you are well," added Luna.

"Never do that to us again, Parvi," said Ginny, hugging her tighter.

"Now you explain exactly what happened," demanded Padma through her tears.

"I've just told Hermione but I'll repeat for you three, although it gives me no pleasure to do so. But you need to know. Viktor's character must be made clear to the world."

Parvati told the story once again, leaving her sister and Ginny absolutely astounded. Luna looked over at Hermione, remembering what she had told her the other night. They all expressed their utter dismay for Viktor and sympathy for Parvati.

"So yeah," she concluded, her voice wobbling slightly. "That's where I've been for the past two weeks. I'm not sure how long it was because I lost all track of time, but that's how long Malfoy said it was."

"Malfoy?" Hermione blurted, almost as if by automatic response.

"Oh no," she cried, smacking her palm against her open mouth. "I wasn't to say anything. Please forget I just said that."

The other girls nodded but Hermione made a mental note not to forget.

Once they had all finished talking and were about to go to bed, Hermione asked Parvati to accompany her to the toilet, to which she consented and so they headed off.

"I don't care if you have been made to stay quiet about whatever involved Malfoy, but nobody has seen the boy for over a week now. This is no laughing matter. If you have any news of him, I must know of it."

"Mione-"

"No. On this point I am absolutely insistent. I don't mind if you keep some details of what happened between you and Krum secret - that is entirely fine by me. But I need to know how the hell Malfoy is linked to all this."

"Alright," she said. "But you cannot tell a soul."

Hermione nodded, encouraging her to continue. Parvati took a deep breath and then began.

"How is Malfoy linked to all this, you ask? Well, to put it quite simply, he's the one that saved me. Had it not been for him, I would have still been under Viktor's control and perhaps would have never seen you lot ever again. He found me, Hermione, and brought me back here."

It was impossible. This was not the Draco Malfoy she knew. He would never go out of his way to save a random Gryffindor, one so wholly unconnected from him. While he would perhaps like to get revenge on somebody who had crossed him, it made no sense if he was doing this for Andromeda and Tonks. He hated them: a disowned blood traitor her dirty half-blood daughter. Was this what he had disappeared over a week for? Or did he accidentally stumble upon them?

Her heart did whisper, that he had done it for her.

"But, what, how- does that mean Malfoy is back now?"

"I know, Mione, I was just as shocked as you are. But it's true. Perhaps he is not so bad as we thought. Oh, and yes I believe he is probably back now - probably just returning now, actually. He planned his return to be after mine, in hope that we would not be linked."

He was back. He was here. He was safe.

She wanted to find, speak to him, touch him. But she knew she couldn't. He had made it quite clear to her that she should stay away from him.

But right now, she didn't care. She would be selfish and she would be ruthless. Because she needed him, and she let herself hope that he might need her.

"Thank you, Parvati," said Hermione. "I've got to go do something now, you go back to the dorm. I'll catch up with you later."

Hermione began to make her way out, hearing a faint murmur of Parvati’s confused response.

"But, Mione, you didn't even use the toilet!"


	23. Chapter 23

Hermione wasted no time - she ran to Dumbledore's office. If he had arrived in the past hour, that is most certainly where he would be. Facing an expulsion, most likely.

She knocked on his office door relentlessly, even pulling out her wand, preparing to shout: 'Alohamora', but it opened for her before she could.

There she found Dumbledore sat alone at his desk.

"Ah, Miss Granger, good evening. How can I be of service to you?"

"Where is he?" she asked, panting from all the running she had just done.

"Whoever do you mean?" He asked, raising his eyebrow knowingly.

"You know who I mean," she said, in exasperation. "Malfoy of course."

"Ah, you just missed him."

"Professor, you cannot expel him, you simply cannot. You need to bring him back here and tell him that you have un-expelled him or whatever you call it. Really, you have to trust me."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, yes, believe me. He was gone all this time trying to find Parvati and bring her back," she cried, deliberately leaving out the vengeful side of his disappearance. "And he succeeded, he brought her back. Or we might have lost her forever."

"Yes," the wise wizard replied, "that is true."

Hermione exhaled in relief.

"Oh, good, so you won't expel him then?"

"Hermione, I never had any intention to do so," he said slowly. "I'm not sure why the thought crossed your mind."

"So he told you?"

"No," said Dumbledore. "But there are some things I simply know."

"My goodness, I am so sorry, Headmaster, for having disturbed you. I really thought he might have been expelled. Please, do forgive me."

"The stars are spectacular this evening, Miss Granger. I would highly recommend you stop by the Astronomy Tower."

"The astronomy tower?" She repeated with a confused frown.

"Yes, hurry along now."

The witch did just so and, unsure exactly why she was being so compliant, made her way to the Astronomy Tower. Perhaps, she was a little to used to following orders.

~

She walked, slowly but steadily, from Dumbledore's office to the Astronomy Tower. She had exhausted herself from running and would abstain from it for at least a little while.

Through long, ill-lit corridors, up and down various staircases she travelled until she reached that final staircase with its winding spiral of steps.

At the very edge of the tower, leaning against the iron railing was a head of ice-white hair, staring at the snow that fell before him.

"Malfoy," she whispered and he turned around immediately.

"Granger," he replied, his eyes full of something.

"You're back."

"Yes."

She decided to start with the easier thing she had to say to him.

"You brought Blaise and Luna back together, didn't you?"

He made no reply so she tried the second, far more important thing on her mind.

"I also wanted to thank you for bringing back Parvati-"

"She fucking told you? I explicitly told her to keep quiet," he interrupted.

"No, no, I forced it out of her. Please do not blame her."

He eyed her suspiciously but said nothing and proceeded to turn back around. Hermione took a deep breath and walked over to the railing, to a position next to him.

"I want to thank you, on her behalf, on her family's behalf, on Gryffindor's behalf. They do not know who they are indebted to."

"If you wish to thank me, thank me only on your behalf. I believe I thought only of you."

She blushed at his words, her cheeks filling with a ruddy hope.

"And Krum?" She asked, gulping as she looked at him.

_I've split him in half for you._

"Dealt with," is all he replied.

Hermione nodded and looked down at the hands she was fumbling with.

"I promise I'll return the favour."

"I'm holding you to that one, Granger."

Hermione felt herself tingle. She tried to change the subject.

"You were gone so I long, I worried that you might never come back. That I might never see you again."

"You were worried about me?" He asked, his face glowing like that of a child's.

"You cannot begin to imagine," she admitted to herself, but refrained from saying it aloud. She simply looked at him and it was everything.

He hesitated no longer: he grabbed her by the back of the head and pulled her into him, locking his lips on hers. A moan escaped her as he brushed his tongue against hers.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that again," he whispered into her ear. "I thought I might never."

He kissed down her neck, relishing the contact between his lips and her soft, pale neck. The sounds that escaped her were irresistible and he felt a rush of blood down by his groin and an increasing hardness that came with it.

He pressed himself against her, their bodies matching each other's movement.

"Feel how hard you make me, Hermione," he whispered as his mouth was an inch away from hers. He could feel the ever-increasing heat of her skin against his and the loud beating of her heart.

Her hand crept down to the bulge in his trousers. Late at night, when he would touch himself at the thought of how big his dick would look in her tiny hands, when he came all over his bed sheets imagining her touching him, he had never expected to find himself going so entirely wild as she tentatively moved her hand over his dick. Even with clothes on, she had somehow managed to turn him entirely bestial. He needed her and the pulsing hardness of his cock was making it very clear.

"I've, I've never done this before," she stuttered, looking at him as though she were searching for an answer. She immediately regretted saying it. Why? Why did she have to admit that?

The thought that nobody had ever touched her - that she had let nobody touch her - apart from himself exhilarated him. She was giving herself to him entirely and he fucking relished it. He would consume every inch of her untouched body.

"Trust me, it definitely doesn't fucking feel like it," he replied as he brought his mouth onto hers once again. His hands explored her body, reaching beneath her shirt to grasp her small, supple breasts.

"It's almost as if you read my mind by choosing not to wear a bra," he smirked as he squeezed the warmth of her tits in his hand. She moaned into his mouth at the sensation of his cold rings running over her hard nipples.

"Be quiet for me, Granger," he said under his breath, their foreheads pressed together.

"I don't think I can," she mumbled, biting down on her lip, which only made Draco's heart beat faster and his cock throbbing harder. She was irresistible.

"I want this off," he said, tugging at her shirt.

"Here?" she asked, gulping.

"Nobody will come," he assured her as he picked her up so that her legs were wrapped around his waist and took her over to one of the corners of the tower, pressing her back against the stone wall. "Except you."

Her eyes grew wide at his words and she kissed him harder. He then he began to pull her shirt off, over her head. His eyes grew wild as he saw her, the body no man except himself had seen. The god-sculpted structure of her collarbone gleamed in the moonlight. A small mole adorned the centre of her freckled chest and her perfectly round and perky breasts protruded out from her, almost reaching out to him, begging to be touched and cherished.

"You are so fucking perfect," he exhaled, unable to lift his eyes from her. "I am so fucking lucky," he moaned into her skin as he began to brush his tongue over the peak of her nipple, sending waves of heat through her body. He sucked on them as his hands brushed up and down the curvature of her hips.

The winter night was cold against her bare flesh, biting her almost as hard as the love bites Malfoy was leaving - marking - on her skin. But the heat, that pleasure heat, that was rising inside of her balanced out that cold pain.

"Do you want me to feel your cunt?" He asked, looking up at her with devil eyes. She nodded perhaps a hundred times.

"Tell me, tell me what you want me to do to you. I want to hear dirty words spill from your pristine little mouth."

"Touch me," she mumbled.

"No, no, Hermione, that will not do. I want you to beg me to circle my finger tips over your throbbing clit, to curl them inside you as I graze that pleasure spot in your cunt. As I feel your walls clenching tightly against my fingers. As your wetness envelops me. As you come all over these family heirlooms I wear by my knuckles."

She could not take it any longer, his words were consuming her. She needed him to liberate her.

"Please, please, touch me, down there, do it, do it now," she begged through her the panting of her breath. "Please, please, it's all yours, do what you want with it."

"All mine? Nobody else's?"

"Yes."

He pulled up her skirt and thrust her thick tights down to the floor. He grabbed tightly onto her thighs, slowly moving his fingers upwards where he played with the lining of her underwear.

"I'll be the first and the last man to take these off you," he said as he brushed his finger back and forth over her underwear, stroking the outline of her orgasmic folds.

"Please," she moaned. "Please, Draco."

"I like hearing my name between your lips," he said as he pulled her white cotton briefs down her legs torturously. "But my name won't be the only thing between your lips."

His finger began to swirl around in the puddle he was welcomed with, gathering more and more wetness around him as his fingers completed slow, teasing circles.

"So fucking wet for me already," he groaned, biting down hard on his lip.

He circled his thumb over her clit, slowly and gently. She thought his fingers must be programmed to do exactly what she needed from them. It was the perfect pace, firmness and positioning. How many other girls had he done this to? Had he done it to Fleur on Halloween? Had he done it to Pansy? She hated the thought and tried to banish it from her head.

"You like that, don't you?" He asked, his eyes gleaming deviously.

"Oh, yes, just like that," she stuttered through her moans. Her words were almost incoherent.

"Nobody has ever made you feel like that, have they?"

"Nobody."

"Just me, Granger?"

"Just you, Malfoy."

He kissed her once again, his finger continuing to stimulate her clit as his tongue made the same motion inside her mouth. The sensation was overwhelming.

"Inside-" is an she could mutter.

He smirked, spat down onto his finger, knowing her virginal tightness would need the additional lubrication and proceeded to slide one finger inside her. He gasped at how her walls clung to him, gripping him tightly as if they never wanted to let him go. She moaned into his mouth and he was on the point of losing control.

"So fucking tight," he panted. "And it's only one finger. Fucking hell, Hermione."

He moved his finger about, curling it, sliding it in and out, trying to prepare her for the second finger he was about to present. When it went inside her, her loud moan almost made him come then and there.

"Shut up and take it," he demanded, temporarily stopping his movement. "Or I won't carry on."

He brought his free hand that had been travelling up and down his body up to her mouth and covered it for her. Any moan that escaped her muffled into his skin.

"Whoever needed a muffliato anyway," he smirked and continued to pump his fingers inside her.

"I'm so close, so close," she panted.

"You're not coming until I say so."

He lifted his hand from her mouth and removed the two fingers he had inside her and switched their positioning.

"I want you to taste yourself," he commanded, sticking the two fingers that were dripping with her wetness inside her her warm little mouth. She began to suck on them, her eyes locked on his, looking both innocent and corrupt. It was unbearable. He imagined how his dick would feel inside her mouth. How her tongue would feel against it. Whether she would be able to fit it all inside her. Whether she would gag as he hit the very end of her throat.

He removed the fingers from her mouth. Not today. That would come later. Instead, he focused back on his other set of fingers: two of which were inside her and his thumb that was circling over her clit.

"Please, I'm so close."

"Speak to me. Tell me something. And then maybe I'll think about letting you."

"I'm all yours. I've always been yours. I'll always be yours," she said, to which Draco almost exploded, the force of his emotions being transferred to his fingers as he quickened his pace. With a series of uncontrollable moans, Hermione came all over his rings, as he had promised her before.

He removed his fingers from her cunt and brought them up to his mouth where he sucked off ever last drop of her, as she collapsed to the floor, her shaking legs unable to support her any longer.

"I always wondered what you tasted like."

"You don't like it," she said, worry flooding her face.

"Are you taking this piss? It tastes like the serpent's apple. Irresistible."

He threw her clothes over to her and Hermione quickly covered herself. She hadn't even noticed that he had been fully clothed the whole time. She felt so bare.

"Have you done this with many other girls?" She asked, hating herself for it. It was the question she had most avoided asking, but it leaked out of her.

"Do you really think I would finger fuck another girl without expecting something back from her? I don't give a shit about the other girls I fuck."

"So you have done it with many other girls."

"Don't fucking ruin it now, Granger. None of them have almost made me come by just touching me over my trousers or simply moaning. Not even when they gave me head. I had to be inside them. But you, you just sucking on my fingers almost made me explode."

She was fully clothed now, standing and starting at him.

"Goodnight, Malfoy," she said as she ran down the stairs, back to her bed where she would fall into a deep sleep.

As she made her way back, she didn't know whether to be happy or ashamed. It was so confusing. He had said her name, he had said he wanted her, he had said she was beautiful. She should have been ecstatic, but she couldn't help but feel that he had only said those things to her in order to get into her pants. He had never said anything like that before.

But would he have gone out of his way to get Parvati back all for some meaningless sex? Would he have brought Luna and Blaise back together just so he could finger her? It seemed unlikely. He had said he had done it all for her. That he thought only of her when doing it.

Had he changed? Or had he simply gotten better at hiding his pride? She chose not to answer.

~

He remained in the Astronomy Tower a little longer, elated by what had just happened, by what had just been given to him. He was almost a little in disbelief.

_I'm all yours. I've always been yours. I'll always be yours._

That's all he had ever wanted to hear from her. That reassurance. That devotion.

He was a selfish man and he wanted her all to himself. Draco Malfoy did not like to share.

It was one of the main reasons why he had dealt with Viktor Krum, that and getting justice for Andromeda and Tonks. He had tried to take what was his and he would not let him get away with it freely.

A few months, maybe even a few weeks ago, Malfoy would have been terrified, disgusted, repulsed by these feelings he had acquired for someone of Hermione's blood status. But he couldn't help but think how fucking stupid it all was. It was bullshit.

So when she came all over his family rings, he felt a hellish sort of triumph. A triumph against his family, against what they stood for and what they had made him.

Just the thought of it now brought back his erection. His mind passed over all her various different sounds: her moans, her winces, her saying his name. He then thought of her body, her perfect naked body, that only he had been given the privilege to see.

Immediately, he began to unbutton his trousers and pulled out his dick, stroking and pumping it as he recalled the first time he inserted a finger into her warm, wet, tight cunt. He thought of how she sucked his fingers that were dripping with her wetness and how she didn't break eye contact once. That look of pure corrupt innocence. She was doing it all for him. For him only.

He began to pump harder and harder, imagining that it was her small hand touching and wanking him off. He remembered the overwhelming pleasure of her touch and could contain himself no longer. It was the fastest he had every come in his whole entire life. And it was all because of her. He came off the edge of the tower and his semen fell like the snowflakes in front of him.


	24. Chapter 24

_The next morning._

Hermione Granger was only wearing a scarf because it was a frosty December morning and she decided she would rather like to avoid catching a cold. No further reason, of course.

That was most certainly how it appeared to everybody else. No one would have guessed that Hermione Granger woke up a whole hour before she normally did - and mind you she normally woke before everybody else anyway - to try and deal with what appeared like a skin disease that had spread across her neck and chest.

No charm, no incantation, no form of muggle makeup could cover or conceal the marks of Cain he had bestowed upon her. They were deep and electric with passion.

Why had she let him mark her like that? At least leave them in places she could easily hide. But on her neck and the top of her chest - everybody could see that.

 _That's the point_ , she imagined he would say with a sinister smirk.

After an hour of trial and error, she gave up and picked up her red and gold scarf, knowing she would have to throw it on as soon as people started waking up.

Would the professors make her take it off during lessons? They weren't allowed to wear hats in lessons, so they probably wouldn't tolerate scarves either.

All this man did was cause inconvenience wherever he could.

~

Other than receiving a strange wink from Luna at breakfast, nobody commented on Hermione's choice of apparel that morning.

She wasn't even the only person wearing a scarf in her first two lessons that morning. Everything was going smoothly.

She was making her way through the quad at break time, smiling to herself with a strange sort of triumph, when she was approached by a figure that blocked her path.

"Hermione, hi, how are you?" panted Cedric Diggory.

No, no, no. His could she have forgotten? The previous day had been so eventful that it has somehow entirely escaped her mind that she was now engaged to go to the ball with Cedric. And to make it worse, the exact same day that he had asked her, she had willingly let herself be touched by somebody else. Begged for it, even. And that someone wasn't just anyone: Cedric Diggory and Draco Malfoy despised one another.

How could she face him? How could she even speak to him? She had entirely betrayed his trust, completely and utterly disrespected him, when all he had done was treat her with respect and kindness.

The look on his face was so golden, so radiant and so full of hope that she could not dare to destroy it. What had she done?

"Oh, Cedric, hi," she spoke, trying to make eye contact but only managing to look somewhere just past his shoulder. "I'm alright, yeah, you?"

"Better than ever," he smiled. "Hey I was just wondering if maybe - at some point - you wanted to go into Hogsmeade with me? I get it, you're probably really busy and may not have much time, but if you do..."

She was his date to the Yule Ball - of course she was supposed to say yes. But she knew, deep down, that she would be destroying him.

But how would he ever come to know? Malfoy wouldn't be spreading round the word that he fingerblasted some Gryffindor muggle born. What he didn't know couldn't hurt him.

She also noted that all she had done was consented to be his date to the ball. It didn't necessarily mean anything.

"Uh, Cedric, I would really love to, but can I just say something?"

"You don't have to give me a response now," he stammered with worry in his eyes. "Whenever you're ready, Hermione. I don't want to rush you."

"Thank you, you're the best, Cedric," she smiled, patting his arm.

He looked up at her with a mixture of hope and excitement.

"I know this may be quite soon," he said tentatively. "But I picked this up in Hogsmeade a while ago. It reminded me of you."

He held out a little white box with a light blue ribbon that circled around it like a flowing river. Taking Hermione's hand, he placed it in her palm and opened up the lid. It was a dainty silver necklace that glistened in the winter sun. At the very end, it had a pristine little charm that looked something like a mermaid.

"Oh no, you hate it, don't you? You think it's stupid? He asked when he saw her reaction to the necklace.

"No, not at all. It's beautiful, but-"

"Oh, thank goodness," he sighed with relief. "I was hoping you might wear it to the Yule Ball, when we go together."

"Cedric, it's such a lovely gesture but I simply cannot accept it," she said firmly, guilt rising in her stomach to a degree almost too severe to tolerate.

"You're going to have to, Hermione," he smiled. "Because I bought it a while back and so cannot return it."

"You could always give it somebody else," she said. "Somebody who deserves it more."

"I could never do that. I thought of you when I bought it. I could never share that with anybody else," he said with a painful sincerity.

Hermione felt entirely overwhelmed with guilt and torment. Her thoughts no longer flowed smoothly and and her arms began to shake. Here was this perfect boy, throwing the world and more into her arms, and here she was, choosing not to catch it. Choosing to let it fall down past her. And in doing so, she fell too.

He began to remove the necklace from the box and unclasped it. The two ends were now between his thumb and index finger on either hand and he edged forward to her. He was stopped only by a thundering voice.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Of course it had to be him. It just had to be.

"Don't do this," she whispered, attempting to address Malfoy but she wasn't sure if he heard or not.

"I'm giving Hermione a gift," said Cedric, looking at Malfoy strangely.

"And who the fuck told you that you could do that, huh?"

"I'm not sure I need permission to give my date a gift, Malfoy."

Hermione could see that his eyes were glowing red with rage and that his hands were curling into a fist.

"She's not your date," he laughed menacingly, gesturing at Hermione with incredulity. "Are you fucking deluded?"

"No, I'm pretty sure that I asked her yesterday if she would like to be my date to the Yule Ball and I'm pretty sure she said yes," he replied.

Draco looked as if he were about to explode, he edged closer to Cedric, his eyes squinting and his breath heavy and violent.

"Stop chatting shit, Diggory, or I'll rip every limb off your body with my bare hands."

He moved closer and closer. Hermione could take it no longer.

"It's true, Dra-Malfoy," she gulped. "He asked me and I said yes. Yesterday morning."

His attention now shifted away from Cedric and he looked over at Hermione with disgust. He had never looked at her so loathsomely before and she hated it.

"Back to Malfoy, huh?" He hissed. "Keep it that way."

He turned back to face Diggory.

"So what, huh, you were going to place this pathetic necklace on her neck? Is that what you were going to do?" He asked, indicating the necklace Cedric held between his hands.

"Yeah, got a problem with that?"

"Not at all," he replied with a devilish smirk. "Be my guest."

Cedric shrugged and went over to Hermione who begun shaking her head, her eyes watering and her chest moving up and down violently.

"Don't do this," she whispered once again.

"Go on, Diggory," he drawled. "Take off her scarf and place that necklace of yours around her neck."

"That's right, Malfoy, I will," he said sternly as he walked towards the shaking brunette.

"Can I?" He asked Hermione as he reached out to removed her scarf.

She gave him a feeble nod, knowing she had no choice. He unwinded the woollen fabric from her neck and dropped it the ground with a gasp when he saw the marks that covered it.

Draco's face was full of a hellish triumph. His lips were curled upwards and he let out a gloating chuckle.

"See that neck, Diggory? That flesh that should touch nothing other than the necklace you would place around it? You see it, yeah? Well guess what? My mouth was all over it last night. The same day that you asked her to the fucking ball," he spoke slowly and torturously, throwing in a laugh here and there.

"I had her begging for me to fuck her, screaming my name as she came all over me, as she told me that I was all hers," he continued. "Seems like she forgot all about you, huh? While you were laying in bed wondering how you would give her a pathetic little gift, maybe while you were fantasising about giving her a little kiss on the cheek, she was sucking her warm, dripping cum off my fingers."

"Is that true, Hermione?" He asked quietly with watery eyes.

"I am so sorry, Cedric," she stuttered through her tears.

"He's wrong for you, can't you see that?"

"I know."

"But you still would pick him over me. What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing, I swear to you," she cried.

"He doesn't love you, Hermione. But I do. I love you."

Hermione didn't get the opportunity to reply to him because Draco Malfoy had punched through his left cheek.

"What the fuck do you think you're saying to her? Who the fuck gave you the audacity? Didn't I just fucking tell you-"

Cedric had by then recovered his strength and punched him right back, shaking his fist after the collision. Draco stumbled back, clasping his cheek in pain.

"You're a fool, Malfoy," he replied.

"Stop it, stop it, please," Hermione cried, unable to move. She tried to separate them but was pushed to the side.

They continued to punch, hit, kick each other and with each progressive collision, their faces and knuckles became more and more bloody and bruised. Multiple people came over and tried to separate them but it was to no avail. They had grown violent and bestial and it seemed as though they would stop at nothing.

"They're going to kill each other," she whispered.

She pulled out her wand, muttered a few incantations, anything that might get them to stop but there was nothing she could do.

"You think you can just fucking take her from me like that? You think she's just something you fucking take?" Draco shouted as her ripped into Cedric.

"She was never yours," Cedric replied as he retaliated with an equally weighty punch.

They continued to go at one another, blood now covering them almost entirely, only stopping when some professors arrived and broke it up forcefully.

"Headmaster's office," Snape bellowed. "Now."

Draco Malfoy spat blood onto the floor. The two boys glared at each other and then followed the professors out.

Cedric stopped by her, wanting to speak to her at least one last time.

"Hermione, please, don't ruin your life by choosing him. I'll always be here if you change your mind. I'd take you back in an instant. Just make the right choice," he said.

She nodded, feeling a deep pang of guilt in her stomach as she saw his bloodied face, bleeding lip and split knuckles. Why was she always ruining everything for everyone?

He gave her a hopeful nod back and continued on his way out. It was now Malfoy's turn to walk past her.

"Draco," she whispered as he passed her, ignoring his previous words. She hoped it might mean something to him.

But instead it repulsed him.

"You dirty mudblood cunt," is all he said to her.

For the first time in her life, she thought she deserved it.

Once they had left, she turned her gaze back to the quad and saw that everybody was staring at her, a few people at her neck. She saw her scarf on the ground and immediately picked it up and wrapped it around her neck shamefully.

And to add on to all the pain she had inflicted, the two boys were now being taken to Dumbledore's office, probably facing suspensions, or even possible expulsions. Malfoy was treading on thin ice with his record at the moment, having only recently been missing for some week and a half. He would most certainly be at risk of expulsion. All because of her. She tried to banish such negative thoughts from her head for they were of no use to anyone and only caused her great pain.

She was aided in doing so when Ginny and the Patil twins approached her.

"Hermione, are you alright?" they asked out of deep concern.

"Yes and no," she replied.

"What was that?" asked Padma.

"Oh, I don't know exactly," she half lied. "I was just with Cedric and, well, you know how those two don't get along. I think someone said something to the other and then it all broke out."

"Well, one of them must have said something really quite bad because they were properly going at one another," remarked Ginny.

"Yes, I suppose so," she replied.

Cedric had been right in choosing a mermaid to represent her. She seemed perfectly harmless on the surface but she somehow managed to destroy every good thing that came in her path.


	25. Chapter 25

It felt as though nothing could console her the whole day. She still went to all her lessons of course. It was almost impossible to make Hermione Granger miss a lesson.

But her thoughts were conflicted all day. There was no way for her to avoid the great tumult of her mind that grew increasingly excessive with time. Nobody had heard from Cedric nor Draco and it was tormenting her. She needed to know if they were alright.

She scarcely found herself distracted that whole day, apart from, perhaps, when they were all sitting in the Gryffindor common room after dinner, as they often did.

Seamous Finnigan stood up dramatically and cleared his throat.

"Listen up, everybody," he began, and the chatter died down. "This is very hard for me to say but I'm finally doing it. I cannot hide myself or my feelings any longer."

Everyone looked at him rather strangely, but were quiet and attentive nonetheless.

"Dean Thomas," he said, loud and clear. "I have been in love with you for quite some time now. I've never had the courage to admit it until this day. Will you be my date to the ball?"

Everyone was silent, their eyes fixed on Dean, waiting for his reaction.

Dean took in a deep breath and stood up.

"Seamous, I believe I have loved you longer than you yourself can boast. Going to the ball with you would make me the happiest person in the world."

Everybody erupted into loud cheers and claps, the excitement growing louder when Seamous ran over to Dean, pulled him in and kissed him.

As with most other Yule Ball proposals, everybody in the house celebrated. Perhaps the fire whiskey and the butter beer were becoming a little addictive at this point. Hermione didn't mind though; the alcohol seemed to numb the pain a little and it distracted her from events and thoughts that could not be too soon forgotten.

Hermione's distraction was only temporary. Whilst she was in the common room, she was overjoyed and congratulated them both with a full heart and sincerity.

Later, she and Luna tucked themselves into bed.

"Can you believe that about Dean and Seamous?" Hermione asked Luna.

"I'm surprised it took them this long."

"How on earth did you know?"

"I can tell these things, Mione."

"Any other secrets about people in our house that you somehow know?" Hermione joked. Luna smiled at Hermione's use of 'our'. She loved that her friend always made her feel welcome in her unofficial house.

"Oh, plenty," she whispered. "Many about people even just in this room. Even in this bed, perhaps."

"Whatever do you mean?" Hermione asked defensively. She was not prepared to discuss any of the things that Luna was hinting at, especially not after today's events.

Luna perhaps sensed this.

"Dean Thomas isn't the only one who swings both ways."

Hermione was a little taken aback, but not entirely surprised, she gave her friend's hand a little squeeze and expressed her support.

"Thank you, Mione, that means more than you can imagine."

"Tell me about you and Blaise."

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Absolutely. The two of you are honestly one of the few things keeping me sane at the moment," Hermione chuckled.

"Alright, then. I wasn't going to tell you today - I'd planned on telling you on a day that was perhaps slightly brighter or happier, but as long as you wish me to speak of it, then I will continue."

"Of course I am. Please, I am so curious."

"Oh, Mione, it was simply the most beautiful experience. He took me to one of the empty classrooms which had a beautiful view of the landscape outside. We kissed passionately and then, he asked me to be his girlfriend, officially. I'll save you from the additional details because things got a little heated let's say. But it was just perfect."

"I'm so happy for the two of you, truly," said Hermione, sincerely.

"Oh if only there was such a man for you, Mione."

"You could give me thirty such men, Luna, and I would never be as happy as you. Until I have your goodness, I can never have your happiness."

They talked for a little longer until Luna yawned more and more frequently before finally drifting off into a deep and peaceful sleep.

Now being entirely alone with her thoughts, Hermione was at liberty to reflect upon her situation. She imagined that she probably would not be getting a good night's sleep tonight anyway, so she didn't even try to stop herself.

Pretty much everyone by that point was in a happy Yule ball couple, even Ron and Lavender who nobody had expected to last. Everybody but herself.

A few days ago, Theo had caught her up on how it went with Pansy.

He had run up to her, smiling from ear to ear.

_"I suppose I should thank you for your shitty advice," he joked. "It somehow worked."_

_"No way!" she exclaimed. "I am so proud of you, Theo. That's so exciting."_

_"You cannot imagine how fucking nervous I was though. I was literally shaking; I felt like I was going to throw up."_

_"But hey, congratulations, you didn't!"_

_"Not in front of her but I did straight after."_

_"Lovely," she jokingly remarked with a disgusted look on her face. "So how did you do it?"_

_"Well basically I just blurted out a stream of rather incoherent sentences and she just pulled me in and kissed me. Fuck, even just remembering it now..."_

_"Alright Mr Lover Boy, no need to make me throw up too."_

_"Shut the fuck up, Hermit."_

_"Someone's a little defensive."_

_"Yeah, whatever, jealousy is a disease, might I remind you."_

Reflecting on that moment, she knew she was jealous. Jealous that everybody else somehow managed to have perfect love lives that went exactly how they wanted them to. Even if they did have a little wobble, it would soon be sorted out. She whereas, was living through not just a constant wobble, but a constant bloody shipwreck.


	26. Chapter 26

The next day, Hermione was in one of her afternoon lessons, scribbling something down on her parchment when Minerva McGonagall stormed into the classroom.

"Miss Granger, you have a visitor. Come with me now, quickly."

The room fell silent and everyone turned their heads to look at Hermione. Nobody ever had visitors. It was incredibly rare. She said nothing, only gave Ginny, who was sitting next to her, a confused shrug as she walked out.

"Professor, please could you tell me what's going on? I'm not too sure who could possibly be here to visit me, this all so strange-"

"I'm afraid I'm not too sure what is going on myself, Miss Granger, but this person demanded to speak with you. Now if you would kindly refrain from asking further questions, that would be greatly appreciated."

With great pain did Hermione stop herself from bombarding McGonagall with an endless array of questions. However, she managed to control herself and silently followed the Professor all the way to just outside Dumbledore's office.

A tall and brooding figure was standing before the pair of them. He was facing away from her and so she could only see the back of his long ice white hair that was neatly pulled together with an elegant black bow.

"Miss Granger, a Mr Lucius Malfoy to see you," said McGonagall formally before curtseying and taking her leave.

Hermione felt as though she might burst out laughing. Lucius Malfoy, father to Draco Malfoy- here to visit her? It made absolutely no sense and her astonishment was entirely beyond her expectation. Whoever she had been expecting to see, this was most certainly not it.

While the silence between them was most uncomfortable, Hermione made no effort to begin conversation with the man, who was now more than usually insolent and disagreeable. He had had come to speak to her, and so let him speak.

"You can be at no loss, Miss Granger, to understand the reason of my visit," he said after he had exhausted every possible dirty look he could direct at Hermione.

"Indeed, you are mistaken, Sir. I cannot quite make sense of your asking to see me," Hermione replied with a confused frown. While the man did not deserve any of her kindness, she made her best attempt at addressing him with civility.

"Miss Granger, you ought to know that I am not to be trifled with. But however insincere you may choose to be, you shall not find me so.

I was called to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on a most alarming matter. That my son, Draco Malfoy, was facing imminent expulsion. You can imagine my shock and dismay at such news and thus came to Hogwarts immediately. I demanded to be told the reasons behind this expulsion for I knew there was no possibly way that my son, that a man of Malfoy lineage, could be expelled without some form of underlying reason, shall we say.

My instincts soon proved to be correct - as they often are - when it was revealed to me that my son had left Hogwarts without permission for almost two entire weeks in the search of an old acquaintance of ours and a Gryffindor half blood, a friend of yours I have been told and ought to mention. This was entirely news to me. I had been given no reason to believe that Draco had left Hogwarts at any time.

But it did not end there, unfortunately. Yesterday morning Draco got in a physical fight with that Hufflepuff boy, Mr Diggory. Ah yes, I knew his father. A shameful, traitorous family, entirely undeserving of its prestigious pureblood status. Much like that Weasley family you seem to be very well acquainted with.

When I came to ask the motive for this fight, Draco would not answer me. It was answered only by the Diggory boy who told me that you were the cause. He went on to say that Draco intended for the two of you to be in some way united, perhaps in attending the ball together. Though I know it must be a scandalous falsehood. Nonetheless, I wish to make it absolutely clear where I stand on the matter and my intense objections to it."

His speech was so obnoxious that Hermione could not believe that he was being serious. Nonetheless, she made a brief and ambiguous response, believing Lucius Malfoy to be deserving of no other such attentions.

"Well, if you believe it to be false, why on earth did you take the effort to speak to me?"

Lucius seemed a little surprised at Hermione's bold response.

"To have such a report universally contradicted," he declared, stamping his cane down hard on the ground.

"I'm not sure quite why that calls for a conversation with me, but it is of little importance."

Lucius ignored her, and continued his interrogation with his nose stuck up in the air.

"Did you know that such a report was being spread around?"

"No."

"Can you confirm that there is no foundation for it?"

Hermione laughed under her breath at the man's audacity.

"You may ask questions which I may choose not to answer."

"Absolutely not, you _will_ answer me, Miss Granger," he replied, elongating the syllables of her name in some rather weak attempt at intimidation. "Has or hasn't my son asked you to the ball?"

The fact that a father should care so heavily with whom their son was attending a ball was beyond her. Did he seriously care that much about blood purity? Did he really have nothing better to do with his time?

"Mr Malfoy, you yourself have declared it to be impossible," she said with a mocking tone.

"Miss Granger, do you know who I am? I am not accustomed to such impertinence. I am his father and thus entitle to know all his concerns."

"But you are not entitled to know mine."

Malfoy Senior grew increasingly frustrated at Hermione's lack of compliance.

"Let me make myself crystal clear. This match, to which you have the audacity to aspire, can never take place. Have you no sense of propriety? Honour, reason and tradition forbid it entirely and these things must be attended to. You will be despised and censured by everybody connected to the Malfoy family. You will forever be considered a disgrace and will never have your name mentioned by any of us out of sheer disgust for it."

"Cool."

"Obstinate, headstrong girl! Is this your idea of a 'thank you' after you were received for dinner at Malfoy Manor?"

"Not at all."

"Are you not aware of what a condescension it was to invite such inferior people into my home?"

"I believe I do not agree with your definition of inferior. I am a witch and your son is a wizard. So far we are equal."

Lucius scoffed at her comment and pressed on with the matter that concerned him most.

"Tell me once and for all, are you to attend the ball with him?"

Hermione, no longer bothering to beat around the bush with her responses, said only:

"I am not."

Lucius Malfoy seemed extraordinarily relieved, and still Hermione was bewildered at how much this man cared about a stupid ball.

"And will you promise me never to enter into such an engagement?"

"I will make no promise of the kind."

Lucius Malfoy let out a frustrated groan.

"Oh, are the shades of Malfoy Manor to be thus polluted?" He cried. "To be stained by filthy blood, oh no, it cannot be."

Hermione grew increasingly angry.

"You can now have nothing farther to say. You have insulted me in every possibly way and I must beg return to my lesson that you so rudely dragged me out of."

"You are resolved to have him, then?"

"I have said no such thing. I am only resolved to act in a manner that will constitute my happiness without reference to you or to any person so wholly unconnected with me."

"And so the mudblood refuses to oblige me. And in doing so, refuses to obey the claims of duty, honour and gratitude. You are determined to ruin my family and my reputation. You wish to make me - us - the contempt of the world. You unfeeling, selfish little brat. I will not give you any further attentions for I cannot do so without feeling physically repulsed. I am most seriously displeased."

"And I am glad," she retorted, turning her back to the man and storming away down the corridor, feeling as though she wasted her time most despicably.

Her immediate thoughts were feelings of concern for the vile man's son, and not just that he had to deal with this supercilious dickhead of a father, but now that he would be facing 'an imminent expulsion'. Did that mean he had already been expelled? Or had Lucius Malfoy been able to somehow prevent that? The man had money and rhetoric enough, surely he could have managed something?

Hermione couldn't help but feel terribly guilt for it all, though. While it wasn't directly her fault that Malfoy had left Hogwarts without permission and had decided to beat up Cedric, it all magically linked to her. She would not be able to live with herself if Draco got expelled because of her, she really would not.

She decided to try and send her patronus after him, hoping that perhaps she might be able to communicate with him, or at least reach him. Whether he wished to speak with her was a whole other matter.

And when she cast it, she thought of their kiss on top of Malfoy Manor at dawn. Him. Her happiest memory.

Something she still didn't know was what punishment Cedric Diggory was facing. In regards to the Hufflepuff boy, she had to take full responsibility for any punishment he received. He only got into the fight because she had been with him in that moment and Draco had gotten angry.

She looked down at the muggle watch she wore at her wrist and sighed when she realised that her lesson was by now over and that she had missed about half of its duration. She resented catching up on work but she knew she could not do much about it.

Instead, she decided to write Cedric an apology letter that she would deliver to him herself. She hadn't been honest for so long and the words that flowed out of her quill were the sincerest words she felt she may have ever written. Hermione felt as if a piece of her had been returned to her.

_Dear Cedric,_

_Out of deep despondence, I write to you because I believe you deserve a formal, recorded version of the apologies I extend to you. Or perhaps I am too much of a coward to say this out loud. I know not._

_I must begin by explaining some things that I am sure must puzzle you exceedingly. Please, be assured that when I accepted your request to be my date at the Yule Ball, I had every intention of sticking to it. It pains me to to admit to you that Draco Malfoy and I had something at some point. I don't know precisely how to phrase it for it wasn't labelled or really anything, I suppose. Anyhow, I believed it - most sincerely and truly - to be entirely concluded and broken off when I accepted you proposal (if it had ever even_ _amounted to become something that could be 'concluded' or 'broken off')._

_I promise you that I had no intention of hurting, fooling or blindsiding you. I would never do that to anyone, but specifically not to someone as good and worthy as yourself. In saying so, I am aware that you probably won't believe me and I don't suppose that my behaviour towards you gives you any good reason to do so._

_Only a few hours after you had asked me - and I had accepted - did Malfoy return after his unexplained disappearance. I forced information out of poor Parvati, who had just returned to Hogwarts, and discovered some astonishing news. If you wish to know of it, I will tell you in person, because I believe you deserve to know, but simply cannot write it down on parchment._

_I rushed to Dumbledore's office, in hope that he would not be expelled. He told me, rather strangely, to go to the Astronomy Tower and I did as such. I saw him and I believe the world stopped moving since then._

_So here you go, Cedric, this is my_ _rather half-arsed attempt at an explanation for my actions, but I am by no means excusing them. I take full responsibility for them and while I ask for your forgiveness, I do not believe myself worthy of it._

_I think you and I might have something in common. We, both of us, fall in love with the wrong version of people. One we might make up in our heads, perhaps. And it ends up hurting us._

_I ask one last thing of you. Promise me that you will lead a happy, carefree life. That you will forget all about me. Go ask Cho Chang to the ball. I have reason to believe she has liked you for quite some time. Go kick arse at Quidditch. Go make your parents proud._

_Make them say with glee: "That's my boy!"_

_I sincerely wish to speak to you again promptly. You have always been one of my dearest friends and one of the best people I have ever known. I will never forgive myself for how I have treated you._

_Keep bringing light to this dreary world,_

_Hermione Granger._


	27. Chapter 27

Hermione decided she would have an early night that day. The past few days had been exhausting and she was in desperate need of the remedy only a good night's sleep could provide.

She lay her head down on the pillow, looking over at her bedside table where she had stored Cedric's undelivered letter. It made her wonder whether Draco had received her patronus. Even if he had, it was unlikely that he would respond to it.

The note she received not five minutes later entirely disproved her initial assumption. It was a note written in that same green ink with that same wax seal.

_Divination classroom._

_D.M._

Is all it said.

The good night's sleep would have to wait until later, she thought as she hopped out of her bed, slid on her slippers and crept her way out of the dorm. She was wearing only a grey oversized T-shirt, one that she had borrowed from Fred a long time ago and had never returned. She had meant to give it back. She really had.

There were some people in the common room, Harry included, who asked where she was headed, to which she replied simply that she had forgotten her textbook in the library.

She quickly stopped by one of the mirrors and sighed at the sight of her wild mane of hair. Her hands tried to tame it slightly but she soon gave up. Not much she could do about it now.

Had he forgiven her? Is that why he wanted to see her? Or did he simply wish to scream at her for all the trouble she had gotten him into. And for lying - well not necessarily lying - but definitely avoiding telling him certain truths.

It had honestly become rather laughable, by this point, the amount of times she found herself roaming the castle at night. Today was perhaps a little earlier than the other times, she reassured herself but it was a stupid, futile kind of reassurance.

After some minutes travel, she made her way to the North Tower where she began to ascend the stairs, her heart beating faster and faster until she finally reached the circular trap door that was the entrance to the Divination classroom.

She placed her hand against the door, breathing in deeply in attempt to gather up some courage.

 _Just bloody do it already_ , she thought to herself, rubbing her temples aggressively. _It's embarrassing at this point_.

The trap door then swung open before her, taking her entirely by surprise, and a silvery ladder descended at Hermione’s feet.

She immediately spun around and met his cruel eye.

"Struggling to open the door, were we?" asked Draco Malfoy with a raised eyebrow.

Once again, she was caught entirely by surprise.

"Oh, no, I mean yes. I think so. I don't know."

Where had all her sense and coherence gone? Had he stolen it from her?

"Get a move on then.” His words were tinged with judgement.

He was down the ladder in an instant and Hermione followed quickly after, a little out of breath.

"Are we allowed to be here?" she asked naively on her way down the ladder.

Malfoy let out a snobbish laugh from below her.

“What do _you_ think, Gryffindor?” he sneered.

Hermione’s feet landed on the wooden floor of the small, compact little classroom that was overcast by a low ruddy light. It seemed as if it was full of the ruby embers left behind after you burn a piece of wood all the way through.

It felt like a whore's house.

_Is this what you want from me? To take my clothes off for you like a woman of the night? Is that why I always meet you at this hour?_

Was this his goblin market that she was stepping into and falling victim to?

"Why did you bring me here?" she asked.

"Why the fuck did you lie to me?" he blurted out, his eyes wide as he looked at her from a few metres' distance.

"Lie to you - I didn't lie to you?" Hermione replied, shaking her head in confusion.

"Don't even fucking try to pretend like you didn't. You know you did. Are you trying to fuck with me, with my emotions or something?"

"No - no you know that's not true. No!"

"First you tell me that you're mine, all mine and the next day you're having Cedric fucking Diggory of all people putting a shitty little necklace around your neck. Oh and all of a sudden, you're dates the fucking Yule Ball and he's telling you that he's fucking in love with you!" he bellowed.

Hermione immediately pulled out her wand and cast a muffliato. She couldn't have anyone knowing they were here.

"Tell me that's not a lie. I want to see you try to tell me," he said through gritted teeth.

"I know, I know it sounds bad when you say it like that, but please - you have to know that's what I meant to happen at all. You had been gone over a week and I thought-"

"I was gone _for you_!" he shouted, his face red with rage and his hands agitated as they lifted from his temple.

"For me," she repeated quietly, gulping and clenching her eyes shut.

"I was gone all that fucking time so that I could bring back your stupid friend that I could not give two flying fucks about. I was gone all that time to deal with Viktor Krum once and for all. Do you want to know what I did to him because of you, Granger? Do you want to know exactly how I fucking dealt with him?"

Hermione stood still, shaking, struggling to meet his eye.

"Fucking look at me."

Still, she was immobile.

" _Look at me, Granger_ ," he shouted as his hand flew out to her jaw, latching onto her face and tugging it up to meet his. "Do you want me to tell you how I tore him into shreds with my bare hands? Do you want me to tell how I _annihilated_ him? Do you want me to tell you how I fucking _killed_ him for you?"

A tear slipped from her eye. Her heart was beating faster and her breaths were becoming increasingly panicked. She opened her mouth to speak, but she was met only by silence.

"And whilst I was doing all this, Granger, what were _you_ doing?" he asked as he paced towards her slowly and torturously.

Hermione backed away from him, stumbling as she moved backwards, arm reaching for the door handle.

"You're scaring me, Draco," she replied quietly. "This isn't you."

"Isn't it?" he snarled back. "How the fuck would you know exactly?"

"I know you. But this version of you - it's breaking my heart, Draco."

Tears were now flooding down her face uncontrollably. This couldn't be him, she knew it. This wasn't him. He'd changed. She knew it. This wasn't right.

He was silent, his breaths growing quieter, his face relaxing. He looked almost ashamed of himself.

"Come back to me, Draco," she whispered. "Show me this isn't real. Show me this isn't you."

"Why should I after how you've treated me?" he asked. It was a low, calm whisper but it was flooded with sadness.

She wanted to hold him, kiss him, cry into him. She wanted him to be the version he had proved he could be back in Wiltshire. She needed that version of him to return to her.

"Because I care about you, Draco," she confessed. "A lot more than perhaps I seem to convey. Certainly a lot more than I ought to."

He turned away from her, his jaw quivering as his hand pressed down on his temples aggressively.

"And so that's why you threw yourself into Diggory's arms is it?" he snarled, turning back to look at her.

"I thought you didn't want me."

"Didn't want you? I swear to Merlin you're so fucking stupid sometimes," he muttered, more to himself than to Hermione.

"I am. I'm sorry."

He looked up to her, eyes wide and searching.

"My father told me of your conversation today," said Draco, his fists beginning to unclench.

"He did?" Hermione could not tell whether that was a good thing or not.

"Every last bit of it."

There was a moment of silence between them.

Hermione broke it.

"I won't apologise for anything I said to him. He was-"

"No, Granger, I don't want you to apologise," he said sharply, cutting her off in mid sentence. "You want a certain version of me, don't you? The one you say I truly am under the surface, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, _I_ want _that_ version of you. The one who stood up for me in front of my father. The one that wasn't ashamed of me. The one who referred to me as her equal. The one that was powerful and fearless of the world that tried to contain her."

She could see him place his shield down on the ground. She could sense him coming back to her. She could feel him crawling back into her embrace.

"Can you give that to me, Granger?" he asked, his eyes making unwavering eye contact with hers as he moved closer and closer to her.

His thumb trailed over her lip.

"Watch me," she replied, pulling his face into hers as she pressed her lips against his.

At first, the contact was soft and tentative, but it grew gradually faster and more aggressive as the intensity of their emotions spurred them on.

His tongue was inside her mouth, licking, pressing, massaging as Hermione matched his speed and pressure. She felt herself gasp into his mouth.

"How's that for powerful and fearless?" she asked.

"Good," he whispered into her ear as he kissed her ear lobe, and then all the way down her neck. She moaned at the sensation. "Very good, Hermione."

His kisses trailed down to her collarbones, a divine balance between soft and aggressive. Her fingers wove themselves into his soft hair, gripping on hard as he trailed his way back up her neck.

"Where else do you want me to kiss you, Hermione?" he breathed into the soft, warm flesh underneath her jaw.

She gasped at his words, feeling her whole body flutter. Could he - could he really mean?

"I can kiss you wherever you'd like," he added before pressing his lips against hers once more.

Gulping she tugged at her own shirt, unable quite to bring herself to ask him such a thing, even though she knew how desperately she wanted it.

"Oh, that won't do," he teased. "I need you to tell me with your words. Where's that courage gone, Gryffindor?"

Hermione nodded and brought Draco's hands to the hem of her shirt, guiding him to pull it off her. She cleared her throat.

"You can start here," she said, grabbing hold of her breasts as she stared into his eyes.

Draco's throat bobbed and his eyes went wild, immediately pulling the shirt off her head, basking in the sight of her exposed breasts.

"So fucking perfect," he mumbled as he moved his lips down to her nipples, licking and sucking their firmness. Hermione's head rolled back with pleasure.

"So...' she sighed. "So good."

"Yeah?" he muttered into her flesh, eyes looking up at her. She nodded back, panting hard and eyes fluttering.

His hand squeezed the breast that his mouth wasn't attending to, his thumb flicking over her hard, sensitive nipple, causing her to groan loudly.

"Any other requests?" he asked, smiling and licking his lips.

"Oh, I- uh, you don't need to-"

"Do you want me to kiss your cunt?"

Hermione's widened and her heart skipped a beat. She could hardly speak.

"I'll repeat myself, Granger. Do you want me to kiss your cunt?"

She tried to compose herself.

"Yes."

"And how would you like me to do that, exactly?" he asked, biting down on his lip.

"Oh, I don't know-"

"Would you like me to taste your cunt from behind?"

She seemed reluctant.

"I can stop whenever you'd like," he reassured her.

"No, that's the problem," she confessed breathlessly. "I don't think I would ever want you to stop."

Draco's eyes grew absolutely wild, and Hermione could feel his heart beating faster against her.

He pulled her up into his arms, and Hermione wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her over to the nearest desk, bending her over it with a breathtaking force.

"Is this what you want?" he asked, leaning over to murmur the words in her ear, pressing his hardness against the curvature of her body, separated only by the thin cotton of her underwear and his black suit trousers.

She reached out and stroked his cheek. He planted a kiss on her temple.

"Arms out in front, Granger."

She complied. She gripped onto the edge of the table in front of her and turned her face away from him. Did he not want to see her face? Maybe she was just his ballet dancer, his plaything. But perhaps that turned her on.

But when she looked out in front of her, she saw a mirror positioned directly before her. He made eye contact with her through the ruddy reflection of that gilded mirror. She thought he might have winked at her or perhaps it was just a shudder.

No, he definitely winked at her.

"I want to see your face when I fuck you with my tongue," he said. "I want to see your mouth drop, your eyes close, your brows furrow, just like they did the last time I touched you."

Hermione nodded back at him through the reflection of the mirror.

He lowered himself down and fingered the lining of her white cotton briefs, tracing all the way around her hips. He slowly ran one finger up and down the crevice of her sex, not once breaking eye contact with the quivering face he could see in the mirror. It was full of shameful, but also somehow shameless, ecstasy.

"You're torturing me," she panted.

"That's the point, love."

He began to pull her underwear down, all the way off her legs when he stopped at the sight of her fluffy slippers. He chuckled to himself slightly and kicked them off her feet.

The sight of her perfectly spread folds and the gleaming wetness that dripped over them was immobilising. He pulled himself down to it, holding onto her sides to reign him in, unable quite to control the feral, bestial instincts that had overcome him. His tongue ran over his top teeth as he drowned himself in the sight of her perfection.

"No," she said suddenly.

Draco immediately stood up and looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate.

"I want there to be no gap between us. No clothing dividing us. I want your bare skin on mine."

"You want me to see me naked, do you now, Granger?" He smirked.

"If that's alright with you," she replied shyly.

"Oh it's more than alright," he chuckled as he straightened himself up.

He then began to loosen and remove his tie, placing it on the table beside her. Next came off his blazer, then he unbuttoned his shirt and threw both items to the side. Hermione could not lift her gaze off of his perfectly sculpted, pale body that seemed wild in the ruddy light of the classroom. There was a slicing scar across part of his chest. She wanted to touch it. She wanted to kiss it in all its glory.

Just below it hung a silver chain and what seemed like a serpent pendant at the bottom of it.

"Like what you see, Granger?"

"You're beautiful."

She couldn't tell how he reacted to her saying that. She wasn't sure if he rejoiced in her complimenting him or if it didn't make sense to him.

His trousers fell to the floor, quickly followed by his underwear and he was soon just as bare as the girl before him, save only the silver necklace.

Her eyes could not be lifted off his immense cock, hard as granite, that pointed upwards, the perfectly carved tip brushing against the shadow of one of his stomach muscles. His hands began to stroke it, grinning as he saw the astonishment growing in her face.

"Can I touch it?" she asked.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Granger," he teased. "You'll feel it all later. You'll feel it everywhere."

He went back down to where he had left off, spread her legs and flaps apart further with his hands. His tongue began to run up and down her wetness, taking it all in. It ran slow, torturous circles on her clit as he took one finger and began to stir the wetness that gathered around her hole.

He groaned into her as licked more and more ferociously, sucking on her clit, then moving upwards so he could stick his tongue as far as he could inside her, trying to brush it against her walls. He was practically consuming her.

"Fuck, you taste sweeter than hell."

"Hell?" she blurted out, immediately feeling self conscious and concerned.

"Hell is temptation itself. Hell is sin. And you, Hermione, you make me want to commit every sin in the book."

He slid one finger inside of her, pumping it slowly but forcefully as he continued to swirl his tongue on her clit.

Hermione looked at him through the mirror as he devoured her from behind. She kept noticing the glimmer of the strange necklace he wore around his neck. She had never seen it before today. Not that she was surprised; Draco Malfoy tended to keep a lot of things hidden beneath the surface.

"What's that necklace?" she asked.

He stopped all his motion, lifted himself up and looked at her in the mirror once again.

"The key to my inferno," he replied.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want me to show you?"

She nodded at his proposition and watched him curiously as he unscrewed the top of the snake-covered capsule. Out emerged an inch-size silver spoon and she gasped when she realised what it contained.

"It really is your enfer," she muttered.

"Would you like to know what hell feels like, Granger? I can show you."

"Only how it feels to the touch," she replied.

Her filthy words filled his face with a devious joy as her tapped some of the powder onto the very top of her arse, messily arranging it into a thin line. He lowered himself down so that his face was perfectly in line with her arse. He inserted two fingers inside her and they began to pump once again, while he brought his index finger from the other hand to his nostril and pressed down on it. Then, lowering himself down, he snorted the powder that was resting on her skin, throwing his head back euphorically as he felt it shoot all the way up him.

"Fuck," he muttered.

He then proceeded to lick up the scarce remnants, more as an excuse to press his tongue against her skin than anything else. He bit down on it, sucked it, marked it.

"You blur the lines between Heaven and Hell, Hermione."

"What does that mean?"

"Would you like to find out?"

She nodded and bit down once again on her lip.

He pulled her up from her position on the desk, flipped her around and sat her on the edge of the desk.

"Do you want to lie down for this? We can do it however you want," he reassured her, kissing her mouth once again. She could taste herself on his tongue.

"However I want?"

"However you want," he repeated.

"Conjure me some blankets and pillows by the fireplace," she demanded, pointing over to the flickering fire. "Make it look like a bed."

"I can take you to _my_ bed, if you want."

"No time," she replied, kissing him once again, drawing him closer to her and rolling her hips against him.

"Yeah, you're right," he groaned. "No fucking time."

The blankets and pillows were immediately conjured and he pulled her up into his arms, carrying her swiftly over to the fireplace were he lay her down. He climbed over her, bringing his face against hers. Theirs noses brushed.

"Are you sure?" he asked, brushing her cheek.

"Absolutely."

He quickly cast the contraceptive charm and then spread her legs wider with his knees. He took hold of his prick with one hand and brought it to the opening between her legs where he began to circle the tip around her vulva, brushing it up and down, relishing in the warmth and wetness she provided.

"Inside," she muttered through her groans. "I need you."

"Just warming you up, Granger," he teased.

After having teased her enough, he aligned the tip of his cock with her entrance and pushed inside slowly, not once lifting his eyes from Hermione. She winced and her hips lifted from the pain.

Only the tip was inside of her at this point, how could she possibly take the rest of his eleven inches?

"I can stop," he said immediately, eyes full of concern.

"No, just slow," she muttered. "Slow and gentle."

He nodded and continued to press more of himself inside her. She remembered Ginny telling her that the pain would eventually subside, and she was really hoping that would be true.

"I'll just use my fingers," he said, preparing to pull out. "We can do this another time."

"No," she halted him, wrapping her legs around his waist and pulling him into her. His mouth dropped. "Keep going."

He thrusted slowly into her, pushing his cock in further and further, moaning at the unbearable pleasure of her warm, tight grip.

"You feel so fucking good," he muttered.

And then he was in her entirely. Swallowed by her. Drunk in her.

The pain hadn't entirely subsided but she began to mistake it for pleasure. Part of his pelvis was rubbing against her clit, which helped too.

"You can go a little faster if you want," she said.

He grabbed a handful of her hair as he thrust faster inside of her, the tip of his cock colliding frequently with her cervix. He had filled her entirely, just as he had set out to do.

She could feel him all the way up to her stomach. When he said she would feel his cock everywhere, she didn't think that would actually be true. But it was, and her entire body was responsive to him.

He was pumping, thrusting, grabbing onto her tits, kissing them, kissing her. Crumbling into groans as he felt her nipples rub against his own chest.

Hermione scratched her nails down his back as he thrust inside her, gripping onto him in attempt to pull him in closer. He reciprocated by tugging her hair harder and kissing all over her body. He learned how much she liked her ears kissed and attended to. He made a mental note of that.

She kissed, licked, stroked the scar on his chest, and he felt as though she were healing him of every imperfection. He didn't like people seeing it, let alone touching it, but somehow he didn't want her to ever stop.

"Fuck, Hermione, you'll make me come right now if you keep doing that," he groaned.

Hermione liked the idea of that. She kept going, her hands moving up and down his back, gripping onto him. She clenched her walls tighter against him, causing him to let out a visceral groan. And then all motion stopped.

They came in unison, so loud she thought their sounds might shatter the mirror behind her. Perhaps it did.

"That was amazing," she panted after she recovered, which took her a while and her limbs were still shaking from the orgasm.

"I'm very good at what I do, Granger," he smirked and went to pick up her T-shirt from the floor. He froze as he saw the label on the inside.

"Property of Fred Weasley, huh?" His words were like ice.

"Oh, yeah, he let me borrow it a long time I just never ended up giving it back," Hermione replied as casually as she could. She could sense anger rising within him. Were the good moments between them really that short? Would they always somehow end up fighting after every interaction?

"Never fucking wear it again."

"Why not?" she scoffed, quite in disbelief at his audacity. "It's just a T-shirt."

"You know well enough it's not just a T-shirt. How come he lent it to you, huh?"

"I was staying at The Burrow a long time ago and needed something to sleep in. That's all," she gulped.

"Interesting, interesting," he muttered. He reached inside his trouser pocket, pulled out his wand and pointed it at the shirt. He then shouted 'incendio', grinning as the shirt caught in flames.

"What the hell did you just do?" cried Hermione as she tried to put out the fire but it was of no use. It was soon burned to a crisp. "You had absolutely no right to just do that. It wasn't yours."

"It wasn't yours either."

"How on earth am I supposed to get back to my dorm now? I don't have anything I can wear."

"You can wear my shirt," he said.

"What are you going to wear?"

"You needn't worry about that, dear."

"I literally hate you," she said.

"Didn't sound like it before."

She scoffed, unable to find a response. She grabbed hold of his shirt, put it on and began to do up the buttons.

"Let me do that," he said as he finished the rest off for her, kissing her forehead lightly once he had finished.

"You're so confusing," she said.

"And you're not?"

"No," she replied firmly, her hands pressed against her hips.

He rolled his eyes at her, his tongue finding a place between his top teeth and lips.

"After you, Granger," he said, smirking as he indicated towards the ladder.

Her eyes narrowed on him and she folded her arms defensively.

"I'm not stupid," she clipped.

"Whatever do you mean?" he asked slowly, his lips curling slightly.

"Your false obliviousness is not fooling me, Malfoy," Hermione retorted. "You'll look up my shirt."

" _My_ shirt," he corrected, visibly amused.

"And he doesn't even try to deny it!" she exclaimed.

"You didn't say anything when I did it on the way down here."

"You what?" Hermione's mouth was wide open.

"Oh please," he replied dismissively. "Why else would I have gone down the ladder first?"

Hermione crossed her arms tighter and squinted her eyes harder, so aggressively that she was close to squeezing them out of her eye sockets.

"You're a vile creature, Malfoy," she said, although her lips were quivering slightly as if to suppress a smile.

Draco shrugged at her, still grinning devilishly.

Hermione gave up. She exhaled dramatically, shook her head and began to climb the stairs. Draco followed after her like an excitable puppy.

"Enjoying yourself?" she asked, looking down at Draco from midway up the stairs.

"You can hardly begin to imagine," he replied.

Once they reached the landing, they were silent for a second, both unsure of what to do next. They both knew it was time for them to return to their separate dorms, but neither of them seemed particularly willing to depart from the other. 

"I didn't know you could cast a patronus," Draco said out of the blue, which surprised Hermione a little. Perhaps he had wanted to say anything just to stay with her a little longer. "I was surprised to receive one from you."

"What, like you can't too," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"I can't."

What? He couldn't cast a patronus, not even an incorporeal one? In fairness, the charm wasn't on the school syllabus, but still, she had expected a talented wizard like himself to be the master of something like that.

They were silent once again.

"Goodbye, Granger," said Draco, almost hesitantly.

"Don't leave," she said quickly, grabbing his wrist. "Not yet. Just stay a second longer."

"You want me to stay?"

"Hold me," she pleaded.

He pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her waist as she pressed her head against his beating heart.

"You know earlier?" he asked. "How I treated you?"

"Yes."

"It was because-"

She waited for him to continue. She could see the amount of strength it was requiring.

"Because I thought I'd lost you," he finally confessed.

Hermione felt as though the world had opened up.

"How could you ever lose something that's always been there?" she whispered, bringing her hand to his face.

_You'd be surprised._

What was she doing to him? Thawing the ice that resided permanently in his heart in attempt to carve some space for herself? He pulled her in by the neck and kissed her, attempting to convey all that he couldn't say aloud through the combined movement of his lips and tongue.

If he cared about her less, he might have been able to talk about it more.

"Would you like me to walk you back to your tower?" he asked.

Hermione knew that he shouldn't, as much as she may have liked it.

"No that's alright," she replied solemnly. "Thank you, though."

They remained in each other's arms a little longer before they went their separate ways.


	28. Chapter 28

Aided only by her lumos, Hermione Granger once again made her late night return to the Gryffindor Tower through the dark, winding corridors and narrow staircases of the castle. It was slightly unnerving to her just how much of a common occurrence these evening escapades had become.

The black cotton dress shirt fell just around her mid thigh and the cuffed sleeves hung just passed her wrists. It smelled just like him.

_Saline tears, burnt mahogany and fresh leather._

Memories of the events that had happened prior to the November Holidays brought her a little wave of joy and nostalgia. How naive and innocent she had been back then. But how narrow-minded and prejudiced too.

Her pace was hindered slightly by the great fluffy mass of faux fur that adorned her feet. They seemed belonging of another time, but she was unwilling to let go of them. If they tried to slip off her feet, she increased her grip two-fold.

It had been strange when he had kicked them off her feet. But she did not stop him.

After the expected eight minute walk, Hermione found herself outside the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room. Once she had looked either side of her, she muttered the password under her breath and tiptoed quietly through the portrait hole.

"Hermione, is that you?" asked Harry, holding his glowing wand up to her face.

_Shit._

"Harry, goodness!" she exclaimed, panting heavily and pressing her hand to her chest. "You scared me."

"Oh thank goodness you're back. I was getting so worried. You were gone for ages. Your textbook must have been really hidden."

"My what?"

"Your textbook," he said slowly. "You know, the one you went out to look for?"

"Oh, right, yes, of course," she lied, ending up getting a little carried away within her lie. She thought it might add a touch of authenticity. "It was actually too well hidden, because I ended up not being able to find it, which is why I was out for so long. I only gave up after an endless search, and even then I couldn't quite bring myself to give up looking for it."

"Typical Hermione," he joked, rolling his eyes. "When she does something, it is of paramount importance that she does it well."

His sarcasm earned him a light, jocular punch on the arm.

"But on a serious note, I'm terribly sorry to have worried you, Harry. I swear to you that it was not my intention at all," she said, giving Harry's free hand a squeeze. "Not to mention that you ought be in bed or you won't be able to wake up tomorrow for early morning Quidditch practice."

"You are clearly underestimating Oliver Wood's dedication to making sure everybody, including Ron, gets out of bed on time for Quidditch," he laughed. "But, please don't worry about keeping me up, Mione. With everything that's going on at the moment, I had to make sure."

It struck her then. While she was fraternising - to put it _very_ euphemistically - with the enemy, Harry had been worried out of his mind that something bad might have happened to Hermione. Death eaters killing muggle-borns type of bad.

"No, I really am sorry, I shouldn't have stayed out so long," she replied sincerely. "Come on, let's go to bed now."

Harry nodded, said _Goodnight_ and was in the process of turning around when his lumos lowered from her face down to her body.

"Strange," he remarked. "I could have sworn you were wearing that grey T-shirt you always have on. I must be going mad."

"Oh, no, I lost that a little while ago," she replied, which wasn't necessarily a lie.

"You've been losing quite a few things lately, Mione," he added. "But I suppose with everything going on that's perfectly understandable. Your mind's elsewhere. So is everyone's, I think, for one reason or another."

"Oh, yes, absolutely," she replied quickly. "Well, goodnight then."

In such a desperate rush to sprint upstairs, climb into bed and sleep her embarrassment away into the night, she darted from Harry without another word, leaving him perhaps a little confused.

Much to her relief, Luna was fast asleep when Hermione climbed into bed alongside her. She took in deep breaths, her chest rising up to a peak before collapsing as she exhaled: both air and a few random words. They were a little incoherent and Hermione could not make out most of them, although she was quite certain she had heard her mumble Blaise's name.

~

It was dark and silent when Hermione woke up the next morning, save an ear-splitting shriek that escaped her which startled almost all her poor dorm mates.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Ginny groaned through her pillow.

"It's six in the bloody morning," added Padma sluggishly.

Parvati was still sound asleep, snoring a little. Luna looked up at her with sleepy eyes, said nothing, and dozed off again, returning to her strange little mumbles.

"Sorry," she replied in embarrassment. "I don't know what came over me."

Padma rolled over, facing away from Hermione and covered the side of her head with her pillow. Ginny's replied by raising her middle finger up into the air. It was was the only part of her body not fully covered by the thick blankets she was enveloped in.

What Hermione had said had, of course, been a load of bollocks, as was to be expected of this new rather deceptive version of herself. While she did not like her newfound insincerity, she knew that it could not be helped for the time being.

In reality, she had remembered that she had Divination with Professor Trelawney that day, second period. Her hatred for the class was only exacerbated by the previous night's events.

To make matters worse, her first lesson of the day was Potions with Professor Snape, where she would have to once again sit next to Pansy Parkinson. A truly excellent morning.

She pulled herself out of bed and made her way to the Girls' bathroom where she hopped in the shower, scrubbing her body with more than usual vigour, as if there was additional filth she had to wipe away. She hated that she felt that way. Sex wasn't supposed to make people feel that way.

It was a beautiful moment between them, and she hated that she had to shrug off the little whispers that told her she was no more than a worthless harlot. That Malfoy was only using her.

She tried to shake away the thoughts, knowing that these insecurities she had were one of her character traits she hated the most. Why did she always have to feel insufficient and insecure? Why couldn't she be confident like Ginny? Carefree like Luna? Tough like Parvati? Forgiving like Padma?

The steaming water almost scalded her skin as she scrubbed her body and her hair, hoping to somehow tame its wildness. Droplets of condensation were now building up on the shower door, clinging helplessly onto the frame. They would all disappear if she wiped them away. One day, she would.

After quickly drying herself off with the hot air charm, she wrapped herself in a white towel and made her way over to the sink where she began to dry her hair using a muggle hairbrush and the same charm. She wished she had somehow been able to smuggle in a muggle hairdryer but she knew that might've been a little excessive. Where would she even have plugged it in?

She pulled out her toiletries bag to grab her toothbrush and accidentally grabbed a tube of muggle mascara. The last time she had used it was the the night of the September Formal. She had tried putting it on, but remembered immediately wiping it off. She had felt stupid.

Temptation seized her as she held the tube in her hands. She unscrewed the lid and pulled out the applicator, lifting it to her eyes. The black product had smeared a little on her eyelid and the bridge of her nose but it disappeared with a tap of her wand.

She looked up at herself in the mirror, like she had yesterday evening, and she saw herself as he saw her.

For perhaps the first time in her life, she identified a potentiality for corruption in her reflection - in herself - that made her body shudder with disbelief.


	29. Chapter 29

_Potions with Professor Snape._

"You look _different_ ," said Pansy, eyeing her up suspiciously. "Sold your soul to the devil in return for looking mildly decent?"

Had Pansy Parkinson just complimented her? Impossible.

"Nothing quite so interesting, I'm afraid. All I did was blow dry my hair and put on some mascara. That is all," she replied with a shrug, downplaying her efforts in attempt to save herself some embarrassment.

"What in Salazar's name is a blow dry and a mascara?" asked Pansy, visibly perplexed.

Hermione briefly explained that the former was a hair drying technique and the latter was a muggle cosmetic product.

"Interesting. I would like to try this mascara thing. I think it would become me very well," said Pansy.

"It's probably all for Malfoy," added Theo with a wink. He had just sat down in one of the seats to their left.

"Shut up, Theo. I just wanted to try something new, that's all."

"Yeah right," scoffed Theo and Pansy in unison. Their eyes twinkled at each other.

Ever since Theo had asked Pansy to the ball, the girl had warmed to Hermione slightly. Not so much to actually be nice to her, but enough to be civil with her and tolerate her.

"I regret to inform you, Granger, that Pansy and I are aware that Malfoy came back to the dorm without a shirt last night," Theo smirked. "What did you to get up to, huh?"

"Let me guess," interjected Pansy. "Bent over the table in the Divination classroom. That one's a Malfoy classic."

Theo burst into fits of laughter and Pansy looked at him smilingly, all whilst Hermione felt any confidence or joy be drained out of her entirely. Pansy's words had sliced her open, and everything she had felt before that moment just tumbled out and abandoned her.

They looked over at her to see her response to the joke, only to find her eyes watering slightly and her face paled.

"Wait, he didn't actually ... he didn't ..?" asked Theo.

"He did," she replied monotonously.

"Hermione Granger, Golden Girl come Malfoy Moll," Pansy chuckled. "Just another girl on his endless list. Who would've thought?"

Pansy's words stung her sharply. She was already broken, but somehow that managed to obliterate her.

"Oh, come on, Hermit. No need to be sad that we found out. Cheer up," said Theo, shaking her arm gently.

It wasn't that, but she pretended it was.

The worst part was that, deep down, she had always known that he was using her. And still, even when she had been preparing herself to expect the worst, she found herself entirely defeated. All she wanted was for him to appreciate her, and while she knew that gaining his respect was a big deal, she did not think herself undeserving of it.

"So he does that with every other girl, does he? Bend her over a table in the divination classroom in front of a mirror?" she asked with a quivering voice.

"A mirror?" the two Slytherins asked, once again in unison.

"Yes, a tall gilded one," she replied, looking down nervously at her desk. "An intimidating and glaring one."

"I've never heard of the mirror part before," said Theo with a frown. "Maybe it's a recent addition."

Malfoy then walked in and took his seat in the back row, right behind Pansy and Hermione. They immediately stopped their discussion and turned their attention towards Professor Snape. Malfoy did not say a word during the entirety of the lesson, only passing her a note round about halfway through the class.

_I liked your hair before. Easier to grab._

_D.M._

She did not reply to his vulgar note, nor did she even turn around to look at him. She quietly muttered the vanishing spell and the note disappeared into thin air.

There was absolutely no way she would address him after what she had discovered. What she had mistaken for a unique and special treatment had in reality been bestowed upon multiple other women. He had probably done it to Fleur Delacour on Halloween and Pansy seemed to know all about it, so perhaps she had experienced it firsthand.

But what was this about the mirror? Why had he only used the mirror for her? What about all the other things he had said those things deviated from the plan?

Had he wanted to expose and humiliate her further? He had spared the others girls of it. Why did she have to be any different?

She refused to think about it any longer. She would not let if affect her performance in that day's Potions class.

~

Directly after Potions came Divination, the class Hermione was most dreading. She simply could not possibly return to the same classroom she had given herself to Draco Malfoy in and be expected to view it as an adequate and appropriate learning environment.

She normally disliked the class anyway, being too woolly and not exact. She lacked natural seeing abilities, which she couldn't even help through extensive study. It had always been a subject she knew she would drop as soon as it became possible, despising the fact that it was one of the few things she could not succeed in.

Now, she had a further reason.

Professor Trelawney, to her, seemed a fraud, and it was the reason for which she had not let herself be concerned about the Professor potentially knowing what had happened the night before. Sybil was a phoney, an impostor. Although, her threadbare confidence kept worrying that there was always the possibility.

"Welcome, my dear students. This month you shall continue your exploration of the noble art of Divination in the form of Tarot cards. We are leaving last month's exploration of tea leaves and moving forward to a more sophisticated technique which I am sure you will all enjoy.

In groups of three you shall read each other's fortunes: past, present and future. Shuffle the deck and draw three cards. The meaning of the card can be found in pages 195 to 203 of _Unfogging the Future_. Now go ahead and see, my children. May you be blessed with the sight."

Hermione was sitting at a table with Harry and Neville. She rolled her eyes to the two of them, which Harry returned and Neville gulped. 

The door then swung open.

"Ah, Mr Malfoy, joining us en retard. Pray, tell us your reason."

"Couldn't find the classroom," he said loudly, and insincerely too. He knew very well where the classroom was, given how many people he had visited it with. The he added, more softly, so quietly that Hermione almost missed it: "nor the fucks I give."

She knew he despised the class, finding it a useless and trivial class. It frustrated Hermione greatly how good he was at it, though.

"Let's shuffle these cards then," said Harry, picking them up in his hand and trying rather pathetically to move them about. "How do you do it, exactly?"

"Give them here," said Hermione. This part she could do. She shuffled them up like she would do with the muggle French-suited playing cards she had at home and then slammed the shuffled deck onto the table. The sound jolted her in a repulsively familiar way.

"Who wants to go first?" she asked.

"You can," they both said.

"Thanks a lot, you guys," she said, as she lay the cards out on the deck and drew out three cards that seemed to speak to her.

She drew out the star card as her past, the judgement card as her present, and the lovers as her future.

"I got the star, the judgement and the lovers," she said. "Whatever that means."

"It says here that it's important to note whether they're upright or reversed."

"Oh," she said with a furrowed brow. "The star card is reversed, the judgement card is upright and the lovers card is upright. What does that mean exactly?"

"In the textbook it says that if the star card is reversed, it signifies faithlessness, discouragement and insecurity. I suppose that's your past, then. The judgement card is upright, did you say? Oh, yes, that means reflection, reckoning, awakening. So that's what you are in the present, I guess. And then, the lovers card being upright means partnership, duality and unions. So I'm assuming you'll fall in love in the future or get married or something," noted Harry, nose deep in the dog-eared textbook he had procured from Flourish and Blotts a few years ago.

"In your past you were insecure, unsure of yourself and perhaps a little immature in that sense," butted in Luna, unapologetically. She had been curiously listening to Hermione's fortune from the table at their right. "You made wrong decisions and you let other people take advantage of you. But that's all in the past. In the present, you have achieved a valuable self knowledge, an awakening. You have matured greatly and now understand the world around you and the people in it. You're no longer naive, perhaps. And as for your future, it seems very bright and full of love, as expected."

"Thank you, Luna," said Hermione laughingly. She didn't really believe in this sort of thing.

"No, don't laugh," she said with a serious tone. "The Tarot cards do not lie, and therefore cannot be laughed at."

Hermione mumbled a quick apology, having forgotten her friend's passion for the class.

"Terribly sorry, Luna."

"They're also all Major Arcana, which is rather rare. There's only twenty-two of them in the whole deck of seventy-eight cards. It is rather uncommon, and perhaps a little strange that you didn't get a single Minor Arcana," she also noted.

"What's the difference?"

"The Major Arcana are the core and foundation for the deck. They're perhaps the most significant cards. The twenty-two cards follow the spiritual journey of the fool into enlightenment and individuation. I think the cards really wanted to speak to you, Hermione. Do not neglect what they have said."

Hermione began to look at the cards before her a little differently, but she wasn't entirely convinced. She thanked Luna for her insight before swiftly moving on to Neville's reading.

What cards would Draco Malfoy choose? Or perhaps, what cards would choose Draco Malfoy?

~

He had been sitting at a table on the opposite side to the classroom to Hermione, with two of his older friends: Crabbe and Goyle.

"Malfoy, your turn then."

Draco shuffled the deck swiftly and skilfully, splayed the cards across the desk and pulled out three cards that spoke to him.

"Six of wands for my past, seven of swords for my present and the lovers for my future."

"What the fuck does that mean?" asked Crabbe.

"It doesn't mean shit," he replied firmly.

"Oi, oi, you got the lovers though," said Goyle. "Future Mrs Malfoy, huh?"

"Shut the fuck up, Goyle."

He knew exactly what the cards meant. Divination had been one of his mother's favourite classes at Hogwarts and their house was full of these tools.

The six of wands was reversed, meaning excess pride and lack of recognition. Accurate enough for his past, he thought. The upright seven of swords meant deception and trickery, to which he made no comment on, although he knew of its present truth. Then came the lovers card, which he had so hoped to be upright. But it was reversed. Loss of balance, one-sidedness, disharmony.

Two Minor Arcana and one Major Arcana. One upright, and two reversed.

It tore him to shreds.

But it was all bullshit, of course. None of it meant anything. What could three random cards possibly have to say about his fortune? Except, he did wonder what three cards the brunette on the other side of the room had got.


	30. Chapter 30

_Slytherin common room later that night._

"So what do you lot think, huh?" asked Pansy to the two Slytherin boys who were sitting next to her at the round table, nose deep in the essays they were writing.

"About what?" asked Blaise, looking up from his parchment.

"About Malfoy and Granger, of course."

"I'm in no mood to gossip, Miss Parkinson," replied Blaise, shaking his head and returning to scribbling words with his quill.

"Thank you for blessing us with such an interesting and vivacious character this evening, Mr Zabini," said Theo, mockingly, as he set his quill down and leaned back in his chair. "Still in pain from when Luna pegged you?"

"That is an entirely private matter-"

"What, that you took a ten inch strap on up the arse?" Theo continued with a smirk.

"While it is all very interesting hearing about Blaise's sex life," said Pansy. "I want to gossip right now and you will comply, Theo, or I'll go borrow Luna's strap on right now."

"Alright, alright," he replied very quickly, holding his arms up in defence. "Not entirely keen on having Blaise's sloppy seconds."

"You know you love it," replied Pansy with a wink. Theo squeezed her hand from under the table.

"I think they're both just infatuated as each, but both too scared to admit it," said Blaise, still writing on his parchment.

"Basically, they're both stubborn cunts," summarised Theo.

"You know what I want? I want Draco to confess his feelings to us," said Pansy slowly and mischievously.

"There's more of a probability of Snape winning most charming smile in the Witch Weekly than Draco ever being candid about his feelings," Theo scoffed.

"How about we trick him into it?" Pansy proposed, her lips curled up in a devious smile.

"I don't think that would be kind-" began Blaise.

"Oh for fuck's sake Blaise, be a true Slytherin for once and go along with it," she cried.

"What do you have in mind, princess?" asked Theo.

Pansy looked at them both and smiled.

~

It wasn't long before Draco Malfoy walked into the common room and was immediately called over by the trio sitting at the round table.

"Oi, Draco, move your pretty arse over here," shouted Theo.

"Only because you asked so nicely," replied Draco with a scowl as he took a seat next to Blaise.

"No thank you for me complimenting your derrière?"

"Absolutely not."

"It's just so peachy and-"

"Watch it, Nott, you don't want your girlfriend finding out about us, now do you?" Malfoy joked, warming up a little.

Theo pulled out a little metallic case from his pocket and drew out one of the cigarettes it contained.

"Have either of you got something to say to me?" asked Pansy, pressing her hands against her hips in false anger. "Or would you rather stay quiet and pay me an adequate recompense instead?"

After lighting the end, and taking the first drag, Theo replied: "the latter, I suppose. Can't go out revealing all my deepest, darkest secrets."

Pansy smirked as she held out her hand to him, lifting the tip of her fingers up demandingly. Theo rolled his eyes and placed one of his cigarettes in her palm alongside his silver zippo lighter.

"Anything for you, darling," he mocked and Pansy smirked back at him as she brought the cigarette to her lips and lit the end.

"Luna's coming round in a bit, if that's alright," said Blaise.

The three other Slytherins stopped dead and glared laser beams into his head.

"You're not seriously bringing the Ravenclaw-come-Gryffindor loony bin into our common room again?" Pansy cried. "Can't you just go frolic and fairy hunt in the Forbidden Forest like you usually do?"

"No, actually, we were just going to sit by the fireplace and smoke like you and Theo often do," he replied nonchalantly.

"You can't bring her here!" she exclaimed, exasperated.

"You can't stop me," he replied in an unwavering tone.

"I've got this, don't worry, love," Theo whispered into Pansy's ear as he rubbed up and down her thigh. "Alright, Blaise, you can bring her here, as long as you give us some of your weed."

"I only bought enough for Luna and I, so that won't be happening."

"You know what you are, Theo?" said Pansy, turning to look at him glaringly. "You're a really shit negotiator. You should've left it to me."

"Very clear who wears the pants in the relationship," Draco murmured.

"Now," whispered Theo into Pansy's ear and she nodded back at him.

"You two need to get a room," Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes and leaning back into his chair with crossed arms.

"You're just jealous you're not getting any action lately," said Pansy. "Going through a little dry spell, huh? No girls falling for the divination classroom trick anymore?"

"On the contrary, it's been rather wet and rainy for me lately," he replied. "How's it going for you, Pansy? Still dry and crackling down there?"

Theo stood up, fists balled at his sides and was glaring at Draco. Pansy had to yank him back down to his seat, but he maintained his death stare.

Pansy changed the subject.

"I was speaking to Granger this morning," she said. "She told me-"

"What?" He barked. "What did she tell you?"

Pansy gave Theo a smug little look and continued.

"Oh, nothing of great importance. Only what it was she got up to last evening."

"Tell me what she fucking said!" he shouted, his face aflame.

"How terribly strange she looked this morning, don't you think, Draco?" she said, attempting to suppress a chuckle.

"She looked a little different, not strange. Now stop changing the fucking subject and tell me what she bloody told you."

"Oh, the two are interchangeable in my head," said Pansy with a melodramatic shrug. "One would have thought that after last night's activities, she would have looked a little more - what's the word - untidy, perhaps?"

"Cut. The. Bullshit. Parkinson," he said, separating each word by a long, aggressive pause.

"I suppose that's how you've tended to leave most girls after the infamous Divination classroom trick."

Draco Malfoy was now silently raging, his jaw clenching and his eyes throwing daggers at Pansy's smug little face.

"Would have never guessed Draco Malfoy to be so desperate as to fuck the obnoxious mudblood."

Malfoy could contain himself no longer.

" _Don't fucking call her that_ ," he bellowed, now up off his seat and leaning across the table to stare Pansy directly in the face.

"Why, Draco? Why ever should I not use the term we have always used to describe her? What's so different now?"

He wasn't so easily fooled and kept quiet. She pushed a little harder.

"But that's not all we have said about her. If I remember correctly, back in September, you said _Granger, a reputed beauty? I should as soon call her blonde friend sane_."

Angry people are not always wise, and being driven absolutely livid, Draco Malfoy lost his usual filter in the flowing rapids of his rage.

"Yes, but that was before I knew her. It has been many months since I have considered her the handsomest woman of my acquaintance."

Pansy felt she had won already, but pushed further, wanting as many trophies as she could possibly get.

"Really now? I'm sure you said she had hardly a good feature on her face."

" _That was before I loved her_ ," he erupted, shaking with rage. As soon as he realised what he had said, he cowered back down to his seat for a few moments, panting hard and shaking his head in confusion. He then stood up and stormed out of the common room.

"Well, I am satisfied," she grinned. "Hand me the ten galleons then, Theo."

Theo reluctantly pulled out his wallet and pressed the note into her outstretched palm, scowling as he did so. He had lost yet another bet to Pansy Parkinson.

"Don't you think that was a little cruel?" asked Blaise.

"What? Getting Malfoy to be open and honest about his feelings or blatantly robbing my boyfriend ten galleons because I knew I was going to win?"

"You unfeeling cow," Theo joked, shaking his head dramatically.

"Watch it, you sore loser," she retorted.

"Fooling Malfoy into saying something he didn't want to say is what I mean," said Blaise. "Shouldn't we have waited until he openly wished to tell us? Feelings are a touchy subject for most, especially Draco. I feel we have done him a disservice."

"I would call it more of a necessary evil," Pansy replied.


	31. Chapter 31

Hermione Granger was once again studying late in the library, as she used to do so often. The mascara she had applied that morning was now smudged all around the circumference of her eyes, and her hair had returned to its original wide state. She knew it wouldn't remain straight for long.

For some reason she couldn't quite explain, she felt that if she worked hard this evening, it would atone for how poorly she had spent the evening before. Hopefully this right could cancel out the wrong.

Nose deep in ink-saturated parchment and leather-bound hardcover books, she felt at home and at one with herself. It was a feeling she had been slowly losing hold of; it was constantly slipping through her fingers as they reached to grab onto the next stage of her life. But it wasn't something she was willing to let go. It was more something that was being taken from her, and here she was: adamant to reclaim it.

The first stage of this was to check out a book that she always used to read, and now hadn't for quite some time. Except, she couldn't exactly do that because it was past 8pm and the library had closed, so she simply picked the book off the shelf and took it back to her desk.

Staying in the library after Madame Pince closed it up was one of the very few rules her younger self allowed herself to break. It seemed ridiculous that in a school of magic, the library wasn't open at all times.

She lifted up the cover, to look at the library card where she remembered writing her name on many occasions. And there was Draco Malfoy's name, directly below her's, written slightly to the side, as if to avoid touching the letters of her name entirely.

If he had really wanted to avoid contact with her, why borrow the book right after her at all?

And then she remembered a conversation she had had with him, a long time ago, all the way before this turn of events had even been fathomable to her.

_"Are you nearly done with that book, mudblood?" Malfoy snarled at Hermione, as he approached her unwillingly in the library._

_The name had made her shiver a little, but she pretended not to be affected by it. Hagrid had told her it was the only way to deal with bullies._

_"I've finished it twice already, but I'm allowed to keep it for two weeks, you know. I'm planning on returning it in five days time, thank you very much," she replied with an attempt at a cold disinterestedness._

_"You're hogging it."_

_"There's no rule that says I'm not allowed to-"_

_"My father will be hearing about this," he spat as he turned around and stormed away._

How young and naive they had been! They were full of knowledge but so foolishly lacked understanding. They may have seen the whole world, they may have read every book, they may have learnt every secret of the universe, and still they would have understood nothing.

But she would do anything to go back to that blissful ignorance.

"Thought I might find you here."

Startled, Hermione spun around to find herself staring up at the same blond wizard - whose name she had just read on the library card - now towering over her seated position.

"Here to fight me over this book again?" she asked, eyes squinted at him.

It took him a second to understand quite what she meant.

"You still remember that?" he asked, his eyes wide and expecting.

"I'd forgotten all about it until I just pulled off the shelf now," she replied, before taking a deep breath and continuing more quietly: "You signed your name just beneath mine, as far away from it as possible, of course."

He opened up the book to take a look for himself.

"Yes, I did."

"I would ask you why, but I suppose that would be rather redundant."

"Quite."

His short, monosyllabic responses began to wind her up.

"Why did you come looking for me?"

"Is there a problem with that?"

"Yes," she laughed, ever dismayed by his attitude. "What is it you want? I doubt it's just to talk to me, or see if I'm alright."

"What makes you think that?"

Her frustration rose her to her feet.

"I don't know, Malfoy, maybe just ask all the other girls you've bent over the tables in the divination classroom."

It then became clear to Hermione that his temper had risen to her same level.

"That is why I came to find you."

"What? So you could rub it in my face?"

"Of course that's what you would think," he muttered, shaking his head and massaging his temple with his thumb and index finger.

"What else am I supposed to think?" she cried.

He stopped for a second, attempting to compose himself.

"I only checked out the book because you had it."

"What?" she said, stopping and looking at him inquisitively.

"I didn't give a shit about the book, I just wanted to touch the same pages you had touched."

Her eyes were wide and bewildered. Everything she thought she knew collapsed in that moment.

"Why?" is all she could say, and still it was barely audible.

" _Because I am in love with you, Hermione!_ " he exclaimed. "I didn't know it then, but I know it now. When I checked out that book, I swore I could have felt your warmth woven inside the layers of parchment. I could feel your touch on every turn of the page. Here and there, you had left a little pencil annotation or a tea stain that you wrote a little 'sorry' underneath. My fingers would graze them; it was the closest I could get to being with you."

"Then why did you say all those things?" she blurted out, still shaking with astonishment.

"Because I am a stupid, selfish being and I have been one all my life. I believe you are my only remedy, Hermione."

"I don't exist to be your remedy. I don't exist to be used when it is of most convenience to you."

"You don't. You don't exist for me at all."

Silence.

"I would like to exist for you, though," she thought, but didn't say it out loud.

"I will spend my whole life trying to convince you otherwise," he promised, reaching out to hold her hand. "Heck, I'd even write you a whole book convincing you of it."

He meant it.

"Or you could kiss me instead," she whispered.

It took him a second to process her words, expecting a reproach, not an invitation. But once he had heard her correctly, his hand reached out to caress her cheek and he leaned forward to plant a gentle kiss on her lips.

"You don't have to be gentle with me to prove that you love me," she whispered into his ear.

His eyes widened at her words and he smiled slyly at her before he grabbed her by the neck and pushed her up against the bookshelf, locking his lips with hers, kissing all the way through her. The movement of his tongue made her whole body twitch with pleasure, causing her to grip tightly onto his back, digging her nails into him and pulling him closer and closer to her.

His hands were all over her body, outlining her every curve. She was irresistible. Temptation itself, as he had often called her. His downfall, even.

The depth of his kisses increased, the moans that escaped her became ever more intense and he began to reach under her skirt, teasing her in that way he knew drove her insane. Fluent in her.

She reciprocated, starting by feeling underneath his shirt, caressing the scar at the top of his chest, moving slowly and torturously downwards until she reached the bulge in his trousers that was now visibly protruding outwards.

"Fuck," he moaned as her hand touched him. Even over his trousers, her touch exhilarated him.

"I want to do something for you," she whispered in his ear, locking her eyes on his as she took a hair tie from her wrist, and pulled her hair back with it. His eyes were wild, his heart was accelerating and his cock was throbbing with desire.

She slowly dropped herself down to her knees and began to unbutton his trousers, gasping slightly upon seeing the outline of his hard dick through the thin material of his underwear. As she pulled the final layer down, she kissed his stomach, and then lower, lower, lower until she kissed the very tip of his sex, causing Draco to groan with pleasure.

Her tongue swirled around on it, teasing him, beginning to build up enough moisture to lubricate the full length of his shaft. From what Ginny had said, she knew it needed to be sloppy and wet. She tried to refrain from overanalysing what she was doing, even if the temptation to succumb to her insecurities kept pressing her.

"Fuck, just like that," he mumbled, head thrown back with pleasure, mouth slightly open and eyes temporarily closed.

She then started to moved up and down his cock, careful to avoid her teeth grazing him as she remembered how Ginny had explicitly said this was probably the worst thing someone could do when giving a blowjob.

She tried to deep throat him, take all of him into her mouth but to say it was a struggle was an understatement. Nonetheless, she attempted to push her head closer and closer to the end, gagging a little a long the way. And then she made it, right to his stomach. It didn't last very long and she immediately pulled away, gagging and attempting to catch her breath.

"Sorry about that," she mumbled, cheeks burning with embarrassment, turning her head away from him but he spun her right back and looked deep, deep into her eyes. Into her soul.

"Don't fucking apologise about any of that. I just got to watch your mouth take all of my eleven inches inside it, gagging at the sheer size of it. You're fucking incredible, Hermione."

Eleven inches. She swooned.

Giving him a quick, appreciative nod, she returned to his cock, wrapping both hands around it and twisting as she sucked on the remaining part of him, which was more than substantial.

"You make me feel so fucking good, Hermione, so fucking good."

She sucked harder and moved her head up and down faster. His grip in her hair tightened as he held her head, not pushing it at all, just holding it, gripping onto her for stability, wanting to have her in his hands.

And then she lifted up her eyes and looked at him as she sucked on his sex, her tongue running up and down his shaft as her head bobbed backwards and forwards.

"Look at me," he panted. “Look at me.”

She did exactly so as she continued to use her mouth on him, the groans that escaped him propelling her forward.

And then she stopped.

"I want you inside me. Then your going to pull out and come inside my mouth."

He needed no further encouragement, pulling her up and pressing her against the bookshelf once again, pulling down her tights and her underwear. When he went to prepare her cunt for him with his fingers, he groaned at how wet it was for him already. He performed his usual tricks on her clit and g spot, before she could take it no longer and was begging to feel him inside of her.

"Please, please, Draco."

 _Draco_. It was elemental.

He was just as desperate as her, responding immediately to her request by grabbing hold of his dick and pressing it into her hole, causing her to gasp as she felt her walls stretching to accommodate him.

"You always feel so fucking good," he moaned as he pushed himself in further inside her warmth. "Always so wet and tight."

In a small, poorly-lit corner of the library, Hermione gave a piece of herself to a tall, ice-blond wizard and he gave a piece of himself right back to her.

Her uncontrollable moans and exclamations rattled the bookshelf she was pressed against and echoed through the empty library as she came harder and more intensely than she had ever done in her life. He did exactly as he had asked of her and pulled himself out of her. In response, she fell to her knees, partly to fulfil her promise, partly because her shaking legs could no longer sustain her.

And there she was, mouth wide open for him, resting at the tip of his cock. He did not hesitate to come in her mouth, the way he had always imagined in his late night fantasies, only better. His come spilled down her throat as she swallowed his ejaculation down with one gulp.

Seeing her like almost made him hard again.

"Good girl," he murmured as he watched her swallow his semen, using a finger to wipe the remnants on the side of her lip, staring deeply in his eyes she sucked the tip of her finger.

"Tastes sweeter than hell," she said with a wink.

"Didn't take you for a plagiarist, Granger," said Draco as he pulled his underwear and trousers back on.

"You're a plagiarist yourself."

"How so?"

"You copied that time by the lake, when I tried one of your cigarettes," she said tentatively, eyeing him up curiously.

"One can hardly plagiarise themselves, but I'll let that slide. I was merely teaching you how to smoke, Granger, so if you interpreted it in a sexual manner, then I believe that reflects nothing other than your dirty mind," he teased.

"Oh, come on, Draco: _Put it in your mouth and suck when I say so_. That cannot have been anything other than an innuendo."

"I'm surprised you still remember," he smirked. "Glad to see my words have such an effect on you, Granger."

She cowered, looking away to conceal her embarrassment. Draco then continued.

"Well you were right, Hermione, as you often are. When I said those things to you, I was pretending in my head that you had your little mouth wrapped around my dick, like it was just now, and not the cigarette butt."

Hermione felt herself redden again his words.

"How do you do that?" he asked, looking at her strangely. Or admiring her, perhaps.

"Do what?"

"Still blush at my filthy words like you weren't just screaming my name as I fucked you in the corner of the bloody school library."

She blushed again.

"I don't know, I guess I still- I don't know. I'll try to stop."

"No, no. I like it," he said, pulling her into him and kissing her swollen lips. He could taste himself on her tongue but it didn't matter. "It drives me insane."

She giggled slightly and it thawed a little of the ice within him.

"You know, I swore to myself that I wouldn't do this again. That I'd stay and study in the library until an ungodly hour like the good old days."

"Well, this was a decidedly better use of your time, I can tell you that," he smirked.

She smiled back at him cheekily and went to put her underwear and tights back on. He looked at her, admiring her, taking her all in, knowing he'd be replaying this all in his head later when they separated. He wished she could stay with him, in his bed. That he could wake up to her perfectly messy hair, swollen lips and glossy eyes.

Something else then came across his mind, but he was unsure whether to bring it up. After a few moments of consideration, he took in a deep breath and spoke.

"The Yule Ball is soon," he said.

Hermione was facing the other way to Draco, and so he could not see how her face was scrunched up out of dread for that particular topic of conversation.

"It is," she replied, purposely taking longer to put her tights back on so she wouldn't have to face him so soon.

"Well I was wondering if, perhaps, if your mind has changed since November, if maybe, you might like to go with - with me?"

She knew she had to turn around now.

"But everybody would see us together."

Wrong answer.

"Yes, that's kind of the point," he gulped. "My friends already know anyway."

"None of my friends do," she confessed. "None except Luna."

"Well then this can be the perfect opportunity for them to find out."

"Oh, I don't know, it's a little soon-"

"You're not embarrassed to be seen with me, are you?" he asked, his face slightly fallen.

Hermione wished to give him an adequate response, but she knew not how.

"I see," he spat. "Always one to care more for other people's opinions of herself than how she treats those around her. Always so brave, Gryffindor."

"That's not what I meant at all," she said, maybe lying, maybe not. "It's just that it's so soon-"

"I would've thought you respected me enough to be honest with me, Granger," he said. This time there was no anger, only an emptiness. "Clearly you respect me just about enough to lie to me, and in my experience, I've found that requires very little respect at all."

"I'm not lying when I say I care about you, it's just that-"

"Didn't mummy ever tell you not to say things you don't mean?" he interjected, shaking his head as he began to turn away from her.

"Draco, wait-"

He paused, waited and looked back at her. A fractured image of his countenance was projected onto his face.

"If you won't go with me, Granger, promise you won't go with anyone else."

"I would never-"

"You almost did."

"Draco, come on," she cried. "That was a mistake, that was in the past."

"You weren't ashamed to go with him, no, no, you were more than willing to go with him. I've asked you twice. But I'm still not good enough for Gryffindor's little princess."

Perhaps he deserved it, he thought, but he would not say it aloud. She made a fool out of him, and he would make her miserable for it. He didn't care what that made him. He would do it. And he would do it again.

"Don't walk away from me again," she implored, as she watched him begin to leave her. "You don't get to push me away like that. You don't."

"I believe this is all your doing, Miss Granger," he replied solemnly. "Goodnight."

And he left her, once again, as he always did. And she had made him leave her, as she always did, because she was a coward, and he was one too, as perhaps they had always been and would always be.


	32. Chapter 32

The next week that passed was the quietest and loneliest Hermione had felt in a long time, and yet she was surrounded by people.

With the much anticipated Yule Ball coming up, almost everybody - including the teachers - was buzzing with excitement. Every free moment the students had, they would be practising their regency dancing in the quad, in the corridors, in their dorms, in their common rooms. Just about everywhere.

Everybody was festive, smiling and pleasant. Hermione forced smiles here and there, just enough to blend in with the crowd. Perhaps if she smiled enough, nobody would notice her unhealthy complexion: the dark semicircles that hung underneath her half shut eyes, and the shadowy grey undertones of her skin.

That day, the five dorm mates were due to head into Hogsmeade to browse around Gladrags Wizardwear for potential Yule Ball dresses.

"Ginny," Hermione whispered to her friend as they were grabbing their outdoor coats. "Do we really have to go? You and I aren't even going to be buying anything. Your mother has already sent your dress robes over and I was planning on just rewearing something I already have."

The ginger looked at her friend sympathetically.

"This is the Yule Ball, Hermione," Ginny replied. "It's not just any other dance or formal. This is important."

"But everybody's going to be going into Hogsmeade today and I'm really just not feeling like it."

"Hermione Jean Granger!" Ginny scolded, wagging her finger at her jokingly. "You will be going shopping with us today whether you like it or not."

A small giggle escaped from her well of apathy. It was promising.

"I don't even have a date."

"Yeah you do. I'm your date everyday, love. Don't you dare tell Harry though, or it'll be over between us."

Ginny bowed before her, pulled Hermione's arm out from where it was crossed against her chest and kissed the back of her hand lightly. Another small giggle.

"My lady," said Ginny in a low voice, and the two burst out into fits of laughter. They went down to the common room where they met the other three members of their Hogsmeade party.

The snowy walk into town took them roughly twenty minutes or so, but it seemed far less for they were chatting, laughing and throwing snowballs at each other the whole journey.

"What sort of dress robes are you going to get, Luna?" Hermione asked as the pair skipped along together, arms linked. She felt a child once again, and it made her want to cling onto that sweet moment for the rest of her life.

"Oh, I'm not sure yet. I don't think Gladrags will have anything that I fancy."

"You could always make your own. You've done that before, haven't you?"

"Yes, I suppose so," replied the petite blonde.

It was the early afternoon when they arrived into town, and they could see Wizarding students all around them, rushing about from shop to shop.

"Oh I do so love ribbons," Parvati smiled, running up to the Gladrags store window.

Hermione stopped in front of the window, her mouth fallen slightly in awe and her hand pressed lightly against the glass. On the mannequin was an ethereal dress, adorned with a floaty cascade of layered satin and chiffon. It was her favourite colour: a periwinkle blue.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, not to anyone in particular.

"You need to get it then," said Ginny, coming up beside her, having heard her. "I never would have guessed that yellow would be your colour, but now that I think about it-"

"Yellow?" said Hermione with confusion. "It's quite clearly blue."

"Hermione, my love, I don't know how to say this to you, but I think you're colour blind," said Ginny. "Parvati, come here, what colour is this dress?"

"Why, purple of course."

"Right okay, the two of you are clearly playing some form of practical joke on me," Hermione said, shaking her head.

"No, no," Parvati replied. "The dress you see in the window at Gladrags is your ideal dress. Your ideal colour, design, pattern - everything. It changes with each person. You then go in, describe the dress you saw and they pull it out for you. Makes dress shopping ten times easier."

"Can anyone else see the same dress as you?" She asked.

"I don't think so - it's definitely unusual," replied Parvati with a frown.

"Well, in that case, we can go grab a butter beer at The Three Broomsticks and come back later. I'm dying of thirst and I need a rest after that walk," said Ginny, waving them along to the pub that was down the street.

As they walked, Hermione analysed the contents of each shop window, not for any materialistic reason, but for a far more sentimental one. A small metallic object caught her eye in one of the stores and she excused herself from the party, who all looked at her rather strangely. She came out of the store not too long after.

"Did you find what you needed?" Padma inquired.

"Oh yes," she replied with a smile, and waved for them to continue onwards.

Inside, it was warm and welcoming - a pleasant contrast to the chilly breeze and falling snow outside. The five of them sat down at one of the tables in the corner, by the window and removed their overcoats, hats, scarves and gloves.

Three of them ordered a butter beer and the other two got themselves a warm hot chocolate.

"Oh look!" Padma exclaimed. "It's Harry, Ron and Neville. Neville! Come here. You too, Harry... and Ron."

The three of them came over. Harry planted a kiss on Ginny's forehead and Neville copied him rather clumsily with his own girlfriend.

"Are you lot shopping for dress robes too?" asked Parvati.

"No, Ron and I have been sent some already and Neville bought his ones two months ago. It's just a Saturday outing between us boys, you know," Harry replied nervously, not quite meeting Ginny's eye, and hiding what seemed like a bag behind his leg.

"And I assume you boys are now having some top secret 'boys' discussion over a cheeky Three Broomsticks butter beer," Ginny mocked, rolling her eyes to the girls sat beside her.

"Yeah, and what about it, Ginevra?" Ron scowled at his sister.

"Blimey, did I hit a soft spot there, Ronald? Is 'saturdays are for the boys' a touchy subject?"

Ron stormed off back to their own table.

"Best go after him, you know?" said Harry awkwardly, excusing himself. Neville gave Padma a bashful smile, pulled out a little stem of heather from his pocket and handed it over to her awkwardly before nodding to her and running over to where Ron and Harry were sitting.

"Sorry about that, girls, my brother can truly be insufferable at times," said Ginny with a little laugh.

They finished off their drinks, put their overgarments back on and started to head out of the pub, ever so anxious to try on the Gladrags dress robes they had seen in the window.

As they approached the door and were about to push it open, it suddenly swung against them rather forcibly as Draco Malfoy, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson stormed inside the pub.

"Fucking hell, it's cold out there," Theo exclaimed, shaking off some of the snowflakes from his curly brown hair. He looked up, made eye contact with Hermione, turned to smirked at Draco and continued. "Ah, Granger and the Gryffindors, where are you off to?"

If she hadn't been staring so intensely at Draco Malfoy, she might have made a comment about 'Granger and the Gryffindors' sounding like the name of some failed band.

But he wasn't looking at her. It was as if she were any other person. Apathy.

There was only one thing worse than being hated by Draco Malfoy, and that was being indifferent to him.

"Earth to Hermione," Theo said, snapping his finger in his face and breaking her trance.

"Huh? What?"

"Where are you lot off to?" he repeated.

"Oh, Gladrags."

"Excellent, would you mind bringing this rat with you? She's been begging to go to Gladrags all morning and she's staring to piss me off," he said pointing at a scowling Pansy.

"I'm not going with them-" Pansy protested.

"Yes, you are, now hurry along with them. We don't want you moping around all afternoon."

The girls looked at each other strangely, unsure how to decline the offer. They couldn't possibly go shopping with Pansy Parkinson. She'd glare at them and be unpleasant the whole time. But they didn't say anything.

"Why couldn't she just go with Malfoy?" asked Luna.

"What the fuck do _you_ want?" Draco said in response to hearing his name, shifting his gaze to the little blonde. Blaise glared at him.

"You have a Gladrags bag."

"So what? I went before these three arrived," he scowled, gesturing to the Slytherins beside him.

"Luna, darling, please ignore Malfoy's bad temper. Will you stay with us?" asked Blaise.

Luna looked over at her friends who didn't seem too bothered by the suggestion.

"I've just had a hot chocolate, but I suppose another one can't hurt. I wasn't going to purchase any dress robes anyway, I don't think," looking over at her friends for encouragement.

"Luna, we don't mind if you stay," Hermione whispered and Ginny nodded.

"Alright, I will," she replied, taking Blaise's outstretched hand and joining them.

"There we go, Pansy for Luna, a fair trade, I'd say," said Theo, pushing his girlfriend over to them. "Go bond."

"Watch it, Nott," Pansy threatened.

The two groups separated, with one heading over to the tables and the other heading out through the door. Hermione tried to make eye contact with Draco but he simply looked past her.

"Well, won't this be fun?" said Ginny, clasping her hands together as they left the pub.

"Highly doubt it," Pansy glowered.

Making their way back to the Gladrags store, Hermione could hardly conceal her excitement at the prospect of seeing that beautiful blue dress once again and being able to try it on. In fact, the thought had made her so warm and happy that she couldn't even say a bad word to Pansy, who had her arms crossed and face scrunched up for the duration of the walk.

They soon arrived at their destination, although the pleasure Hermione was expecting to find in it had vanished.

"Where's it gone?" Hermione cried, as she looked at the Gladrags storefront. A new dress was in its place, a plain short pink one. It was pretty, but nothing like the one she had seen before. "Parvati, do they change the dress you see each time you walk past?"

Parvati frowned and tried to make sense of the situation. "No, I still see those purple dress robes from before."

"How sad," Pansy pouted mockingly. "Somebody must have got to it first."

Hermione bit down on her tongue to prevent herself from saying something she might regret.

"Don't worry, Hermione, the yellow one I saw before is gone too," Ginny soothed. "We'll go inside and ask. I'm sure they'll still have it."

Hermione nodded, quite unable to conceal her disappointment. She hadn't even planned on purchasing a dress - how could she have gotten so attached?

Inside, there were racks upon racks of robes and every form of apparel a person could imagine. All five girls gasped in awe as they took in the beauty of the arrangement of all the different colours, shapes and patterns.

Ginny grabbed Hermione's wrist and took her straight to the counter.

"Good afternoon, ladies, how can I help?" asked the middle-aged woman from behind the counter.

"Yes, hello, my friend saw a periwinkle blue dress on one of the mannequins outside and it's no longer there. We were wondering if it was still in stock?"

"Ah, I believe we have just sold the one you were thinking of, however we have some other styles in a similar colour-"

"That's impossible," Hermione interjected. "Surely the dress seen in the window is unique to each person. How could anyone else have bought it?"

"Well, sometimes two people see the same dress. It's rare but it does happen," the woman replied.

Hermione's face dropped but she tried her best to conceal it.

"I suppose there isn't much to be done," Hermione reflected. "Please could I try on those dresses you were just speaking of?"

"Yes, of course. Anything for the other lady?"

"Oh, no thank you," replied Ginny with a half smile.

"I saw a green satin dress outside," said Pansy, joining them rather unexpectedly. "It had thin straps and a v-neck cut."

The woman left them for a few moments before returning with a single green dress for Pansy and two blue dresses for Hermione. The blue was hardly periwinkle - one was sapphire and the other was a cobalt blue.

She had also brought with her a set of purple dress robes that Parvati had asked for and orange ones for Padma.

The girls thanked her and trotted off to the changing rooms to try them on. Hermione began with the sapphire one as it was closest to the periwinkle shade. It was short and glittery.

"Granger, come tell me how I look!" Pansy shouted from her cubicle. Hermione rolled her eyes and went over to Pansy.

The emerald green of the dress complimented Pansy's light, hazel brown eyes and her pale skin perfectly. It sat meticulously on her slim figure, clinging tightly to her flesh but not in a way that appeared uncomfortable. As she spun around, Hermione noticed that the back was completely open. She looked truly beautiful.

"Pansy, you look incredible," Hermione gasped. She could not say a bad word about her.

"It's brilliant, isn't it?" she gleamed and then looked over a Hermione's dress. "That's nice too." She spoke quickly and quietly.

"It's nothing like the one I saw before, unfortunately."

Padma and Parvati then stepped out in unison, both looking absolutely breath taking in their respective dresses.

"Oh I love it! Who would've thought that orange and purple looked so good together!" exclaimed Hermione.

"Ginny, Ginny, come look!" Parvati yelled, calling the ginger over from the seating area.

"Oh, you all look fantastic," she said smilingly, as she rushed over to them. "How are the replacement dresses, Mione?"

"I'm not getting either," Hermione replied solemnly. "I don't want to buy a dress I don't love. I'll just go back to plan A and wear something I already have."

Ginny gave Hermione an understanding nod.

"We're going to look splendid nonetheless, lover," Ginny reassured her with a wink.

The girls got changed back into their original clothing, and made their way out of the changing rooms. Hermione's eyes widened as they passed the lingerie section, but she quickly shook her head and looked away.

"You should get a set," Pansy suggested, having noticed her expression.

"What? No, I couldn't possibly-"

"Oh, grow a pair, Granger," said Pansy, impatiently, taking hold of her hand and dragging her over to the compartment.

"Pansy, seriously, my briefs are fine-"

"Briefs!" she almost yelled. "Good god, Granger, you're more helpless than I thought."

Hermione winced and watched her as she scanned through all the different sets.

"No this won't do ... Draco hates yellow ... who the fuck buys orange lingerie?..." she muttered beneath her breath as she kept flicking through.

"Did you just say 'Draco'?" Hermione looked at her strangely.

"Oh sorry, was I speaking? My bad," Pansy replied, attempting to hide a knowing smile. "Ah, here we go: periwinkle blue or sage green? Take your pick."

"Periwinkle blue, I guess," she replied, her cheeks reddening. If she couldn't have the dress of the same colour, at least she could have the underwear.

"Excellent choice, Granger. Now let me just find you a suspender belt-"

"Oh, absolutely not."

"Fine, whatever," Pansy replied, handing her the set. "He'll like it, I'm sure."

"He?" It was defensive.

"Oh, sorry I didn't realise you swung that way. She will like it very much, I'm sure."

"You know what I meant."

"Did I?" she asked with another calculated smile.

Once their purchases had been made, they made their way back to the the Three Broomsticks, where Pansy and Hermione actually had a conversation. They discussed Potions homework that they had due on Tuesday and how things were going between her and Theo. Hermione actually felt rather disappointed that the walk was so short, as she was strangely enjoying their conversation.

"Well, that was fun, don't you think?" asked Parvati, swinging her Gladrags shopping bag back and forth as she skipped towards the entrance to the pub.

"Yeah, I guess," Pansy replied quietly, as they stepped inside, heading over to the table where the three Slytherins and Luna were sitting.

"Ah, they're back. Had a good time?" Theo asked, pulling Pansy in for a kiss.

"Never fucking make me do that again," she threatened.

"Seems like you lot bonded well," he smirked.

"Actually-" Hermione began.

"Shut up, Granger," she warned.

"Find anything you liked at Gladrags?" Draco asked, looking up from the empty pint glass he was fiddling with and looking deep into Hermione's eyes.

Hermione was surprised that he had addressed her. "Uh-"

"Oh she _did_ ," Pansy interjected with a smirk, looking at them both smugly as she emphasised the last word.

Hermione blushed and looked away from Draco, who didn't take his wide eyes off her once.

The pair stared at each other silently and Hermione's heart was beating faster and faster. How she wished he would take her into his arms and hold her there forever.

There was a dainty snowflake resting on the tip of her nose, plenty nestled in her wild mane of hair and a few in her long eyelashes, but she had managed to bat most of them away. Her cheeks and nose were red from the icy wind. Looking at her, he wished he could have kissed warmth back into her face. Or perhaps restored it in some other way, one that would leave her panting and gasping for breath.

"Well, we'll be going then. Thank you for looking after Luna," said Ginny, desperate to break the awkward silence and to leave the intimidating Slytherins.

Ginny's words caused both Draco and Hermione to shudder as they snapped out of their trance.

Blaise kissed Luna's hand as she parted from him, Theo smilingly waved Hermione off with his middle finger, and Draco mumbled a quick 'Goodbye', not lifting his gaze from Hermione until he could no longer see her through the window.


	33. Chapter 33

By the time they had returned to the castle, the sun was in its last moments of full radiance before it would set for the day. Despite the brightness of the sunshine, the temperature was below freezing and it had by then been a few days that the Great Lake had completely frozen over.

They all collapsed onto their beds when they reached their dorm, chucking the Gladrags shopping bags across the floor. Hermione neatly tucked away the black gift bag she had collected on their way back from Hogsmeade. It was from the same shop she had momentarily stepped into at the start of their outing.

"Alright, that's enough rest now. Everybody sit up and watch my clothing haul," Parvati demanded, hopping up to her feet and picking up her bags from the floor with excitement.

“I’m pretty sure I’d rather listen to Professor Binns lecture about the Goblin Rebellions of the eighteenth Century than listen to you recount all the things we literally watched you buy,” said Ginny with a huff. 

"Don't care, I'm doing a haul anyway," she replied and began to reach into one of the bags.

"Is that what I think it is?" asked Padma, who had turned away to look out of the window in attempt to avoid watching her twin sister's superfluous clothing haul.

Hermione shook herself out of the deep depths of her thoughts and briskly made her way over to the window. There were several students skating around on part of the frozen lake next to the castle. They were little figurines in the distance - so little she felt as though she could hold them in her hand and pirouette them around.

"What, the people ice skating?" she asked.

"Of course, you numpty. Oh, we have to go join them! Wouldn't that be fun? All of us ice skating together just two days before Christmas Day?"

And so, of course, they did exactly that, even if they faced a little annoyance from Parvati. They accelerated towards their destination, each witch more eager than the other to glide across the frozen stage of ice the winter had conjured.

Neville was already on the ice, twirling around in a surprisingly talented manner. Who knew Neville Longbottom to be such a skilled figure skater?

Harry was sitting on the sidelines watching him, looking quite pathetic.

"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed as she ran over to him. "Get up off your arse and come skate with me."

"No, Ginny, I'm impossibly rubbish at it."

"Oh come on, it's just like dancing... but on ice."

"Have you seen me try to dance with these two left feet? I'll fall flat on my face and break my nose, I'm telling you," he lamented and Ginny only shook her head and tsked.

"It's not like you don't already have a scar down your forehead."

He didn't have a chance to reply as Ginny conjured them both a pair of ice skates on their feet.

"As eager as ever, Potter," Ginny laughed, taking his hand and pulling him onto the frozen lake with her. He stumbled a great amount, but Ginny's grip was firm and she managed to somewhat steady him. They were truly perfect for each other.

The remaining four did the same and soon joined them on the ice, twirling and skidding around, weaving in and out of various different Wizarding students of all three schools, as the sun began to sink beneath their shoulders.

More and more students started piling up on the ice - so many that she could hardly make out each individual. Hermione worried that they might disturb the creatures within the lake, or that the ice might not be able to sustain all of them, or worse: that they might get in trouble with one of the teachers.

Most of her worries were soon alleviated when the ice showed no sign of struggle and even teachers started to join them too.

McGonagoll and Dumbledore were spinning each other around as Hagrid tried to stay upright on his tiny pair of ice skates. He eventually gave up and decided to sledge around in a toboggan he had conjured.

Harry had by then fallen over at least seven times and Ginny had decided that he was a lost cause. Still, she held his hand and allowed him to grip onto her for support.

"Let's try and do pirouettes, Mione," Luna suggested, having just seen Neville skate by in angelic arabesque form, holding Padma's hand as she tried to keep up.

"Sure, they can't be _that_ hard," Hermione replied with a shrug.

"Not at all," Luna smiled and began to spin around effortlessly on the ice.

_Maybe not._

"Er, how do you do that exactly?"

"Don't think too much about. Just give it a go!"

Hermione nodded and took in a deep breath, attempting to mentally prepare herself for the move. She twisted her arms to the side and then flung her body round and round. Her spins were rather lopsided and instead of remaining in one single spot, she was all over the place. She tried to stop. She couldn't. She was out of control.

It was honestly like she had been searching for embarrassment wherever she could find it.

And now she was going to fall. Flat on her face. In front of everyone. Like Harry, only probably worse.

But a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her up to balance, breaking her fall. She was so dizzy and disorientated at first from all the spinning that she could hardly make out who it was.

"Tha- tha- thank you," she stuttered, her thoughts still unclear and her vision blurry.

"Anytime, Granger."

_Him._

It brought her back to her senses entirely. His firm grasp on her arm.

"You could have let me fall."

_Like I've fallen for you._

"Not with the Yule Ball tomorrow," he replied monotonously.

His hand was still on her arm. He hadn't pulled it away from her and she hadn't shaken it off from her skin either. One of the ruddy sun rays seeped through the negative space between their arms.

"You don't seem like the type to ice skate."

"I thought you'd learned by now not to judge by appearances."

"I'm sorry," she replied, sincerely. For everything, she had wanted to add. He then removed his hand from her arm, which she then brought up to her forehead, shading her eyes from the golden sunlight.

"Didn't you know I was a world class figure skater like Longbottom?"

Had he just joked? Were they on good terms now? These thoughts made her still for a second, before a horrendous laugh escaped her. She tried to reign it in, knowing he would detest it. It was highly improper.

"I'm afraid not," she said through her giggles, looking into his eyes for a response. She went further, hoping that the bad air had cleared between them. "You'll have to show me."

His hand stretched out to reach for her's. His fingertips were inches away from her skin.

And then there was a loud thud against the ice and Hermione looked around immediately to locate its origin. Harry Potter was lying, face-first on the floor.

"I think I jinxed that," said Ginny, pulling a worried grimace.

And that is how they all ended up in the hospital wing the Eve of the Yule Ball.

~

On three almost consecutive occasions had Hermione Granger let him down.

First, in the early hours of the morning, just as the sun was starting to rise, she had pushed him away on the top of Malfoy Manor. Second, when she had rather conveniently failed to tell him that she had accepted that fucking reject of a male's Yule Ball proposal. And the latest addition, telling him - albeit implicitly - that she was ashamed to be seen with him.

The Golden Trio of Ls he had taken thus far.

While he tried his best to cope with humour and feigned indifference, the pain was unbearable. He had even shed a tear, late at night, when he couldn't sleep from the conflict she had ignited in him.

And still, he could not bare to be apart from her. He'd had his fair share of loneliness in the past. 

But that was only three things _she_ had done wrong. How many had _he_ done?

He'd wronged her ever since they had first met all those years ago.

Draco then thought of how she had stood up to his father, when he had so insolently and imprudently demanded to disturb her from one of her lessons and shout in her face like a child throwing a tantrum.

His father had told him of their conversation, repeating all her retorts, actually believing that in doing so, he would seriously be putting him off the girl. Stupid man. It had only made him more proud of her.

And it allowed him to hope, as he had scarcely ever allowed himself to hope before...

Oh, and he took the liberty to inform his father that he didn't care about his pathetic threats. He knew he was bluffing when he said he'd cut off his inheritance if he pursued anything with her.

He kindly told him to fuck off with the finger that wore the same signet ring she had come all over.

And he made sure to tell him that.

Then he received her patronus. He did a double take at first, being both startled and impressed by the fact that she could cast a full corporeal one.

The last time he had tried, he soon came to realise he had no memory happy enough for it.

What memory did she think of when she cast her's? Was it Potter? That one Weasley twin? Diggory?

He sat down to write her a note. At first he wrote a long one, pouring his heart out onto the piece of parchment that he had ripped out of his leather-bound pad. But that was no good. And so he drafted and redrafted the note until he decided on:

_Divination classroom._

_D.M._

He immediately set the others aflame.

It wouldn't be long before he would scold her into obedience. He would touch her in places Diggory could only ever dream of seeing, let alone coming inside them.

Then he had fucked up. He thought if he shagged her in the Divination classroom, that perhaps he could detach himself from her, pretend she was just another girl on the list to him. Safe to say that didn't work.

All this has been running through his mind as he returned from his trip to Hogsmeade, Gladrags bag in hand. Theo made a slight comment on his silence but they soon realised it would be better to leave him alone to his thoughts for the time being.

"Merlin's saggy left tit, is that ice skaters on the Black Lake?" asked Theo, running forward a little to get a clearer view. "Fuck me, get a move on you lot. I've been bloody waiting for this one."

Theo's words brought him back to reality.

"I bet if you had to chose between ice skating and me, you'd pick the former, huh?" Pansy asked, testing him with squinting eyes.

"How about ice skating _with_ you?" was his grinning reply.

"I'd say that was the right answer," she said, biting down on her lip to stifle a little laugh.

"You lot are turning into right Hufflepuffs," said Draco. "Next minute I'll catch you opening a bumble bee hospital or something."

"Give us a break," said Pansy, rolling her eyes. "If you stepped out of your proud little Malfoy bubble for once, you'd realise that's it's a time of year called Christmas for everyone else, just letting you know."

"I know, Pansy," he growled. "I just don't like ice skating."

"Granger's there," said Theo, lips curling upwards.

"What?" He did a double take.

"Interested in ice skating now?"

He refused to answer him then, but his sudden willingness to join the ice skaters spoke for itself.

When he saw her there, laughing and messing around with her friends, he knew he had to get to her. He wanted her to be like that around him.

Fuck all their arguments. Fuck all of it. He just wanted her.

Was she trying to do a pirouette? Horrendous form. He'd have to help her fix that. Was she falling? Merlin's ballsack, she was.

Stumbling around, losing balance and spinning out of control like at the September formal. All it took was for him to reach out his arm, grasp her's and pull her back to a standing position.

"Tha- tha- thank you," the girl stuttered, her eyes blinking aggressively to bring herself back to consciousness.

"Anytime, Granger," he settled on as a response.

Her eyes immediately turned onto him and she made sense of the situation. She looked humiliated. But there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

"You could have let me fall," she frowned.

_But you let me save you, Hermione. You let me forget the world._

Of course he could have let her fall. In another world, in another time and place, if they had never allowed their lives to intertwine, he would have watched her collide with the icy surface. And he would have laughed.

"Not with the Yule Ball tomorrow," he chose as a reply. He couldn't tell her the real reason, of course. It would be much too forward.

She looked down to his hand that was still holding her arm, purposely done of course.

She didn't shake him off; she just let him hold her. That's all he had ever wanted, anyway. Her to just let him hold her.

"You don't seem like the type to ice skate."

"I thought you'd learned by now not to judge by appearances." Defensive.

She had been right though. He had hated ice skating until he saw her gliding carefree across the frozen lame as he returned from Hogsmeade.

He hated most things, up until he would discover that she didn't.

His life was a good example, perhaps.

"I'm sorry," she replied. He sensed her meaning and wondered how far that apology extended.

Noticing then that his hand was still on her arm, he quickly drew it back and watched as the sun illuminated her face and she shielded her eyes from it. 

_Goddess divine._

"Didn't you know I was a world class figure skater like Longbottom?" Perhaps a joke might make her smile again, or maybe even laugh. He craved seeing her happy because of him.

And then she did.

She paused. Looked at him. And laughed.

Her laugh could have thawed the ice beneath his feet. It had already melted that in his heart.

"I'm afraid not," she said through her giggles.

It was a heavenly combination: her words and her laughs.

"You'll have to show me," she continued, and he needed no further persuasion.

His hand stretched out to reach for her's. His fingertips were inches away from her skin.

And then fucking Potter had to fall flat on his face.


	34. Chapter 34

Harry had broken his nose, as he had rather ominously predicted.

"Hey, free nose job?" Ginny had tried, feeling rather guilty for having dragged him onto the ice, but only received glaring looks from her beau.

Madam Pomfrey then prescribed him a dose of skele-gro, eying him rather critically.

"Wasn't once enough?" she had said, shaking her head.

Taking the potion twice in one's life unfortunately removed none of its repulsive taste and Harry had to be given a third dose, having spat out the previous two.

Luckily, the bones in his nose healed over night and so all the had to worry about then was preparing for the Yule Ball. It had arrived at last.

Still, Hermione couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if Harry hadn't fell, if Draco's hand had touched here's there on the ice. Would they have been alright again? Were they ever alright?

After having tended to Harry, Hermione spent the rest of the morning and the early afternoon in the library. The most important ball in Hogwarts history could not keep her from her studies. Only one thing seemed to be able to do that.

Perhaps it was better that they had drifted apart. At least she could spend her evenings productively instead of breaking more rules she could scarcely begin to imagine.

Hermione strolled into the common room at five o'clock in the afternoon, in no ways expecting to discover an absolute havoc before her. The ball started in three hours, why was everyone getting their knickers in a twist already? She rolled her eyes and made her way up to her dorm, which was in an equivalent state of disorder.

"Hermione Jean Granger! What time do you call this?" Parvati scolded.

"Sorry mum, didn't realise it took three whole hours to get ready," she replied mockingly.

"Three hours? We all need at least five. We have potions to down, glamours to cast, dresses to fit. The list goes on. Now get to work, Hermione, or I will never see you again."

"And I will never see you again if you keep stressing us all out," Ginny replied with stern eyes and Hermione chucked a little, receiving a vexed glare from Parvati.

Luna was sitting in the corner, minding her own business, humming along a little tune as she wove a thread and needle through a piece of grey material.

"How's the dress coming on, Luna?" Hermione asked softly as she crouched down on the floor beside her.

"Quite well, I suppose, not long left to go," she whispered, scrunching her nose a little. "Although please do be quiet. I can't have Parvati finding out I'm still working on it with three hours to go."

"Do you need any help? All I really have to do is fix my hair and throw on my dress and I don't think I need three hours for that."

"No need, I've just finished," she said with a smile, sealing the end of her stitching with a quick spell and standing up to hold the dress out in front of her.

It was a light grey dress with white celestial embroidery running all throughout its layered length. Each layer had a scallop hem and about the bust was some darker embroidery that looked astrological, like a constellation or something similar. The thin straps joined the bodice in a way that created a shallow U shape neckline. It was a monochrome starry sky.

"Oh, Luna, it's splendid," Hermione gasped, unable to take her eyes off its magnificence and when the other girls saw it, they were just as in awe.

Hermione went over to sit on her bed, not knowing quite what else to do with her time when she saw a white box tied with a dark green ribbon and a note resting on it.

"Who did this?" she asked, almost angrily, as she turned around to face all her dorm mates.

"We were wondering when you might notice that," Ginny giggled.

"Did you do this Ginny?"

"No, actually. We have no idea who did. Harry wouldn't say."

"Harry?"

"Just open the bloody thing."

Nervously, she untied the green ribbon and pulled off the note that was attached it it. She flipped it open and handwritten in green ink, it read:

_For the only person who has ever told me that I am beautiful, so that she may feel the same way. Because she is._

_Beautiful._

_D.M._

Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful.

Two tears fell from her eyes like coins dropped into a wishing well and landed onto the note, blurring his words. That made her cry even more. She had destroyed the only love letter she had ever received. No, no, that wasn't true. The letter he had written to her back in Wiltshire. That was a love letter. Every word, every touch, every kiss they had shared was a love letter.

It was a love potion in an apothecary he had built for her. It was an island in a world he had created for her. It was the dedication at the start of a book he had written for her.

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and placed the note down on her bed. She opened up the lid of the box and tears flooded her eyes once again when she saw the periwinkle dress. The one in the window. The one she had seen. How had he seen it? She pulled it out of the box, holding it in her arms and stroking it gently as if she were holding a delicate infant.

"Why are you crying?" Padma asked.

"Because what is happening right now is what could have been."

"Pardon?"

"It's what could have been all my life."

She then heard a tap on the window right by her bed and so she looked up. There he was. On his broom outside her window, looking at her.

"Merry Christmas," he mouthed. He smiled and she smiled back. It was a love letter once again.

She breathed hard onto the glass, creating a canvas of condensation for herself. On it, she wrote, backwards, _I love you_. It was cliché, it was stupid, it was absurd. But she didn't care and neither did he.

She put her hand onto the glass, and he put his hand in the same place on the other side. And then he flew away. It felt like a fairytale. Things like this didn't happen in real life.

"So who gave it to you?" Padma asked from across the room. Hermione wondered if anyone else had seen him at the window. Had she imagined it?

Hermione broke herself away from her position by the window and looked at Padma warmly.

"Draco Malfoy."

No hesitation, no shame, no additional words or embellishments. Just his name and her honesty.

"Is she joking?" Hermione heard Padma whisper to Luna, whose hair she was fixing.

"No, my dear," Luna replied, smiling to Hermione. "She would never joke about a thing like that."

"But, don't you hate him? Don't we all hate him?" Parvati asked.

"When I was blind, partial, prejudiced and absurd, perhaps I did."

Ginny was silent, deep in thought. She went over and sat by her on the bed.

"Hermione, are you sure about all this? Are you sure you like him?"

"He makes me feel alive. He makes me feel real."

"But happy? Does he make you _happy_?"

"Ginny, have you ever seen me like this before?"

"No, never," she reflected. "I must say, I don't understand it, and I don't know if I ever will, but my one condition is always happiness. Happiness in love is not entirely a matter of chance, you know. It's far more attainable than we think, if we don't push it away."

"Thank you, truly."

They laughed a little.

"So, he saw your dress in the window did he? Like Harry saw mine?"

"Harry saw yours?"

"Oh, yes. The yellow one. He gave it to me an hour or so before you came up here. That's when he came and gave me your box. Said the person that got it for you gave him the idea. They bought them together."

"Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter went shopping together? For dresses?" Unbelievable.

"Whoever I was expecting the mystery person to be, it most certainly wasn't Malfoy. Heck, I would have even put Filch as a more likely suitor than Malfoy."

"Well, love is full of surprises, I've come to learn."

"I just want to know how on Earth they saw our dresses in the window," Ginny laughed.

"I think I can explain that, if you don't mind me butting in," said Parvati tentatively. "You must have noticed the two shop windows. One side was womenswear and the other side was menswear."

They nodded.

"Well the whole thing about the ideal dress robes works for both. Both for yourself and for the person you love. For any type of love, whatever gender, whatever sexuality."

Ginny held Hermione's hand. Parvati continued:

"There's little reflections of love wherever you look, I think, if you're willing to find them."

~

There was only an hour to go and so Parvati decided it was time for them to put on their dresses.

Hermione changed into the underwear set she had bought with Pansy the day before.

"Hermione Granger, is that underwear or dental floss?" Ginny asked, jokingly. Hermione reddened and quickly covered herself up with her dress. "Oh stop being such a baby, it was time you stopped wearing those white cotton briefs."

"How did you know?"

"Borrowed a pair once."

"You what?" Hermione choked on air.

"Fred and George shrank all mine so I needed a pair before I went and bought some more."

"You're unbelievable," she replied, rolling her eyes.

~

Once they were all dressed, they gathered together by the full length mirror.

"We look like a girlband," Parvati chucked, as they all looked at one another adoringly.

"Granger and the Gryffindors," Ginny joked, giving Hermione a nudge.

"Shut the fuck up, Ginny."

~

Now that she had her dress on, Hermione sat down at her bedside table and began to apply liberal amounts of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion to her unruly bird's nest of hair. Hopefully this would keep it in place longer than a muggle blow dry would.

"Hair up or down?" she asked, throwing the question out into the open for anyone to answer.

"Up."

"Down."

"No, up."

"Well down is my opinion."

"Well your opinion is wrong."

She ended up apply more of the potion to make her hair extra sleek and shiny before twisting up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She made sure to leave a leave out some pieces from the front which she curled into ringlets.

Reaching into her toiletries bag, she pulled out the tube of mascara that she had used that day she had tried to look presentable only to have her makeup running down her face and her hair disheveled by a certain someone in a certain shadowy corner of the library.

This time, she didn't get any of the black product onto her skin and she was pleased with the overall outcome of the look.

There was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," she said to the others and went to open the door.

It was Pansy Parkinson.

Pansy greeted her not with the usual hello! but a gasp as she saw her. "You look nice. Is that the dress that-"

"How on Earth did you get in here?"

"I bribed Longbottom."

"You could have just asked for me."

"I'm a Slytherin, Granger."

"Right, of course," Hermione replied, a little confused. "Is there a reason why you are here?"

"Obviously," said Pansy. "I would like to borrow some of your mascarpone muggle thing. You know? The one you wore the other week? The eyelash thing?"

"You mean mascara?"

"Yes, that," she replied sharply. She then corrected herself. "Yes, that, please."

"Oh, sure, be my guest." Hermione gestured for her to enter. "Everyone, Pansy's joining us for a little bit, just letting you all know."

" _Her_?" Parvati asked in bewilderment.

"Don't worry, I won't be bothering you for long," she growled at Parvati, perhaps mistaking her shock for spite. "Which one's your bed, Granger?"

"The one by the window."

Pansy went there and sat on her bed. Hermione handed her the tube. Pansy stared at it and fiddled around with it.

"How do I use it?" she asked, looking up from her hands to meet Hermione's eye.

"Unscrew the top and brush the wand against your eyelashes."

Pansy nodded and attempted to follow Hermione's instructions but only ended up covering her eyelid in mascara and stabbing herself in the eye.

"Stupid thing," she scoffed. "It doesn't like me."

"It's not magical," Hermione chucked. "It doesn't have thoughts. It just takes a little time to get used to."

Hermione cleared the black fluid off of Pansy's eye with her wand.

"Could you do it for me?" she asked, hesitantly, which startled Hermione slightly but she nodded, took hold of the applicator and went up close to Pansy's face.

"Stop breathing on me Granger."

"Sorry."

She began to layer the product into her eyelashes until she was satisfied.

"Take a look and tell me if you like it," said Hermione, handing her the mirror. Pansy stared at her reflection for quite some time, before looking up and thanking Hermione with a childish grin. "I can do a bit of eyeliner too, if you'd like? I think it would suit you."

Pansy nodded, unsure of what it was but she trusted Hermione's suggestion. She dipped an angled brush into the mascara tube and applied it onto the corner of Pansy's eyes, winging it out slightly.

This she loved.   
  
“You’re not so bad, you know, Granger,” she said, straightening herself up. 

Hermione looked at her in awe, understanding the deeper meaning of her words. She gave her a nod in acknowledgment, unsure of what to say exactly.

"And thank you," she added as she stood up to make her way out. About halfway to the door, Pansy turned around to scan Hermione up and down. "Wear a necklace with that, will you?"

"Alright."

They nodded at each other and Pansy opened the door.

"Miss Parkinson," Parvati squeaked and Pansy turned to glare at her. "There's less than half an hour to go, you should put your dress on."

"You're not all seriously showing up at 8 o'clock, are you?"

"Oh.."

"Typical Gryffindors," she laughed as she shut the door behind her. It was a humorous laugh, not a malicious one.

"Well, I never," Ginny remarked, shaking her head and blinking hard. "The night hasn't even started and I've been left speechless at least three times already. I wonder what's next to come."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've made a Pinterest (username: skjcartwork) with all the dresses that have been described throughout Pride and Polyjuice Potion if you would like to see!


	35. Chapter 35

"Anyone got a necklace I can borrow?" Hermione asked her bustling dorm mates.

She received no reply. Parvati was frantically applying the last few finishing touches to her appearance, and Padma was quickly touching up Luna's hair.

Oh, and Ginny was in the corner downing her mix of pumpkin juice and fire whiskey by herself.

Hermione shrugged and resorted to looking through her very meagre jewellery collection that she kept stashed in her bedside table. It was composed of two gold bangles, a pair of pearl earrings, Fred and George's ring... oh and a mermaid necklace. How could she have forgotten about that? She grabbed it out of its box and, after some struggle, successfully clasped it around her neck.

The little black gift bag from her trip to Hogsmeade was placed neatly beside the jewellery box. She pulled out its content and buried it in her pocket.

It wasn't long before they found themselves at the top of the stairs that lead to the Great Hall. Instructed by McGonagall, they were to descend the stairs one at a time where they would be greeted by their partner.

Neville's eyes started to tear up as he saw Padma. He reminded her of an orange tulip he had grown in first year.

Harry's mouth twitched nervously as he saw Ginny in the dress he had bought her. When she finally went over to him and smiled, he could hardly form a coherent reply, but Ginny knew exactly what he meant and shut him up with a light kiss.

Parvati was met by Oliver Wood who gave her a warm hug. Since when had they been a thing? Hermione recalled how Parvati had confessed her crush on the quidditch player some months ago when they had played Truth or Dare with a hint of Veritaserum. She was happy for her, but made immediately aware of the unsettling fact that she was now the only one without a date.

Luna came next and Blaise's eyes widened as she saw her descend the stairs like a graceful comet. He took hold of her hand and kissed it, the both of them blushing in unison. They were nostalgically reminded of the first time they met back in September.

"Alright, Miss Granger, your turn now," said McGonagall, gesturing for her to proceed.

"I can't," she replied, surprising both herself and the older witch.

"What do you mean you can't, child? Come now, don't be silly my dear. Off you pop."

"I don't have a partner, Professor."

McGonagall began to speak about why she shouldn't worry about a silly little thing like that but Hermione had already turned away and was charging through the castle corridors once again.

She found the nearest exit, forced the door open with an alohomora and pressed herself against the stone wall, panting hard as she gasped for breath.

Was she really such a coward?

Just like every other time, she had run away from that which scared her, that which was out of her comfort zone.

She hadn't realised that Parvati had a date too - she thought they were in this together. But no, she was to be one of the only students across all three Wizarding schools to show up to the Yule Ball alone.

It was an ugly trait in herself, these insecurities anxieties that she had, but she could do nothing to help them. They were a part of her and they were there to stay.

Why hadn't she just bloody accepted Malfoy? Why did she have to be so afraid all the time?

The exit she had found wasn't too far from the Great Hall itself, and she could hear the muffled quiver of instrumental music reverberating in the gossip of the air.

Through its windows, she could see an ice place - as though the imposing double doors were the wardrobe that led to a kingdom of eternal winter.

Perhaps, she could find a side entrance and get in that way and be perfectly inconspicuous. She began to look for one.

And then he came.

"Hello trouble."

He stepped closer to her - stepped into the moonlight - and she could see him, his pale skin and colourless hair flooded by the moon's pearly beam. He was dressed in a perfectly fitting black suit, however his shirt and bow tie were white. She had never seen him in white before.

"You."

She had purposely chosen that response. It was one she often bestowed upon him.

"Funny how we always find ourselves out here, huh?"

"Funny."

Hm. He would have to try harder.

"Ran away again?"

"What?"

"You ran away."

"Yes."

"Why?"

She froze and shook her head. To him, she was glowing.

"It doesn't matter."

"You ran away from _me_ again."

Again.

"I'm afraid I don't have the pleasure of understanding you," Hermione replied with a furrowed brow. She had tried so hard not to say _what?_ again.

"I was waiting for you at the bottom of the stairs, Hermione."

Hermione felt herself shiver, and it wasn't from the cold. It was his words - it was always his words - that spoke to her every essence.

He had waited and she had run away.

"You- you were there, there for me?"

Her words were quiet and tentative: a modest rebellion against her disbelief.

"I pushed past all that fucking congregation of Gryffindors that were hovering about, waiting for you to descend. I stood at the bottom of those stairs and I waited until it wasn't you that came down even though they had called your name and it was supposed to be you. But it wasn't you."

His words were a breathless stream of consciousness. No filter, no editing, no holding back. And she clung on to every syllable.

"How did you know I would be here?"

"Because I know Hermione Granger."

She smiled, her face brighter than the moon that chaperoned them in that moment. The moon that brought her to him. The moon that he always associated with her.

"I got you something," she said meekly and reached into her pocket. "It's not much but it made me think of you. And I guess it's quite fitting, giving it to you now in the place that we're in."

It was a small metallic box, not wrapped or anything, just the box she had bought it in. She handed it over to him and he looked at her curiously but accepted it nonetheless.

"You didn't need to-"

Hermione brought her finger to his lips and silenced him. He kissed her finger lightly before she pulled it away.

It took him a second or two to graze his fingers over the sides of the lid before pulling it off.

Inside was a silver zippo lighter, like the one he had with him long ago when she caught him smoking by the Great Lake. It was iridescent in the moonlight.

Carved into its reflective surface were five words:

_Because I exist for you._

It was a simple phrase with simple words but the power they held was of the greatest kind he had ever seen. She had done it for him. She had thought of him. She had cared for him.

She existed for him.

Even if he would refuse to believe it.

"I saw it in one of the shops in Hogsmeade and I asked to get it engraved. I thought maybe it could replace the lighter you have with the Malfoy crest on it, if you'd like."

"I don't have a lighter with the Malfoy crest on it," he replied with a frown.

"Yes you do. The one you had on my birthday."

"That was the Nott crest."

"What?" She had said it again. She corrected herself: "Pardon?"

"Thank you, Hermione, it's a wonderful gift."

"Don't change the subject."

He breathed out hard from his nose.

"I don't actually smoke, Granger."

"You don't?"

"No, that was all Theo's shit. I've always found them repulsive," he said. _Except when you did it with me._ "I mean, have you ever seen with a cigarette since then?"

"No - but you knew exactly what you were doing."

"Yeah because I'm not a bloody idiot," he replied. "I've watched Blaise, Pansy and Theo smoke for years now."

"So why then?"

He looked away and took a deep breath.

"I wasn't there by accident, Granger. I had been watching your little fireworks party from the astronomy tower. I got angry at what I'd smelled in Potions. I didn't want it to be you. I wanted you to see me smoking, so that you might think I was in love with Pansy and that she was in love with me."

Hermione choked on the air before her. What other secrets was Draco Malfoy hiding? How many were to do with her?

"You smelled _me_."

"Yes."

"Not the milk skin, armpit hair and bird shit then?"

"You always remember everything I say," he said sorrowfully.

"Is that such a bad thing?" she replied with a frown.

"It is when I'm not proud of what I've said to you in the past."

"I don't mind it," she whispered. "It doesn't bother me anymore."

"But it did."

"Maybe."

"I'll never forgive myself for that."

"I forgive you."

His eyes widened, full of something. This time she didn't refrain from interpreting their meaning. They were full of _hope_.

"I believe there is a whole crowd of people waiting for you, princess."

He took hold of her hand, feeling perfect comfort in her homely touch, and lead her through the entrance she had previously forced open.

"Why are we going this way?"

He grinned but didn't reply to her. They only sped through the corridors of the castle, this time together. She was running through a dark castle in a floaty dress, an elegant knight at her arm as if she were in a world of stories.

They reached the top of the staircase and he looked her up and down, finally being able to see her properly now that they were in the light. She was breathtaking.

"You're going to go down the stairs with me and you don't get to run away this time."

She nodded with smiling eyes and tightened her grip on his hand as they began their descent.

There weren't that many people at the bottom of the stairs, as most of the attendees were already in the Great Hall. Those who were there, Ron Weasley being one of them, had stopped everything they were doing and were staring at Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger as they walked down the steps, hand in hand. The weasel's face was priceless.

"She's with _him_?" he had crowed, flabbergasted, to no one in particular, whilst Lavender clung onto his arm like a sloth, trying to avert his gaze away from Hermione.

Draco was just about to gesture for her to enter the hall before him when he noticed something shiny around her neck and he stopped dead in his tracks.

"What the fuck is that on your neck?"

"Oh, this?" she asked, bringing her hand to her neck and fiddling with the pendant. "Pansy told me to wear a necklace and this was the only one I had. What, you don't like it?"

"Take it off now," he barked.

"I can't have a bare neck. The whole look won't work, Pansy said-"

"I don't care what fucking Pansy said," he growled, ripping the necklace off her collarbones and throwing it to the ground.

"What have you done?" she cried, brushing her bare neck and looking up at him with disgust. "That was my only necklace. That was mine."

"It wasn't yours," he snarled. "It was Diggory's."

"And?" she retorted, not caring to mention that she had completely forgotten it was him who had given it to her. "Why should it matter?"

"You know why."

Back to being secretive. Back to shutting her out.

Had they seriously only managed to last twenty minutes without arguing? No, he wouldn't let it turn into an argument. Not today. Not the day of the Yule Ball.

"You can wear mine."

"What?" She wanted to slap herself. Knew she no other words in the English dictionary?

"You heard me," he said sternly, walking towards her to close the gap between them. He then spoke softly, whispering into her ear: "I want my enfer buried deep between your breasts."

Hermione felt her blush spill onto her neck and she gulped as she nodded. Draco reached down past his pure, untainted white shirt and waistcoat to remove the necklace he always wore. He held it before her, fingering the serpent pendant with a smirk.

"Turn around."

She looked up at him and gave him a brazen smile, not moving, waiting for him to do the honours. He huffed and spun her around with ease, shifting her chignon hairdo to the side, exposing the soft, heavenly glow of her bare flesh.

He purposely took a long time clasping his coke necklace around her neck, breathing hard onto her skin, feeling his heart beating faster as the hair on her neck responded to his presence.

"Let me see you."

She turned around and his blood rushed as he saw her, so pure and heavenly in her floaty blue robes, yet so full of corrosive potential. He would have taken her then if he could.

"You have bewitched me, body and soul."

"Sorry," she blurted.

_Sorry? Really?_

He laughed as he stroked the side of her cheek.

"That's my girl."

Hermione could hardly suppress a goofy grin as she grabbed hold of his hand and lead him over to where her friends were gathered. She squeezed his hand and cleared her throat.

"We're a bit late but we're here," she announced, straightening herself up.

Her dorm mates smiled at the pair of them, Ginny holding out her hand to Parvati who rather reluctantly handed her five galleons.

"Did you go change your necklace? Is that why you were late?" asked Luna and Hermione immediately took hold of the pendant to cover it.

"Something like that," Draco replied for her, squeezing Hermione's hand tighter.

"You haven't missed much, don't worry," said Ginny. "The first dance hasn't even begun yet."

That greatly pleased Hermione, who ardently despised being late to things.

Harry came over and joined them, standing beside Ginny and planting a kiss on her forehead. He and Draco nodded to one another and he gave Hermione a knowing smile.

"Lovely dress, Mione."

"Thank you, Harry."

Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson then strolled into the Great Hall, fashionably late, and charged over to them, both their pupils widely dilated.

"Draco you look fucking gorgeous," said Theo, eyeing him up and down, receiving a slap from Pansy. He went to whisper something in her ear that made her giggle.

"I am so glad you took my advice, Hermione," said Pansy, gesturing to her necklace. "Would have never guessed you to own a necklace with a snake pendant. You surprise me every time, Granger. I would have thought you'd have one with a mermaid or a little kitten on it. What other secrets are you hiding?"

"Oh I stumbled upon it quite unexpectedly," she assured her, glancing quickly at Draco before returning to meet her eyes. "You look incredible, by the way."

"Likewise."

Theo did a double take, moving his head left and right to look at both of them. "Since when were you two on good terms?"

The girl in blue and the girl in green smiled at one another.

It was then announced that the first dance was about to begin and that everybody who wished to be involved should make their way to the centre of the hall immediately.

All the couples around her extended their hands to one another and began to make their way over.

Hermione huffed and prepared to sit down on one of the chairs near her, as if by automatic response. She had never been asked to dance the first dance by anyone at any of the Hogwarts balls.

He would change that.

"Dance with me, Granger," said Draco.

Hermione halted and stared at his outstretched hand.

"I remember you saying that to me in the corridor outside the library. When you were drunk."

"Maybe today is just me annotating the past. Making it the way it should have always been."

 _Better late than never?_ He didn't know.

She felt the depth of his words and, taking his hand, they followed the others to the centre of the room. Draco placed himself between Blaise and Harry, so that Luna and Ginny were either side of Hermione.

The dance began and they started to move closer to one another, hands pressed against each other as they walked around in a circle.

At first they were silent, concentrating only on their closeness, how their hands touched even if the dance demanded only an almost touch. She could hear his deep, sharp breaths against her flesh and his unwavering eye contact. He was deep in thought and Hermione wished she could make herself a tiny home in his mind so that she might always know what he was thinking.

"What are you thinking about?" she finally asked, unable to resist any longer. She immediately regretted it, worrying that he would take it as an impertinence and be offended. A skilled Occlumens, his thoughts were private and barred from the world.

"About my dream last night," he replied, without any of the offence Hermione had worried about.

"May I enquire as to what it was about?" She was pushing it.

He raised his eyebrow at her, being tempted to shut her out at first, like he had on her birthday.

But Draco Malfoy was a different man.

"It was this exact moment. It was _you_."

There was a brief pause in their dialogue as they moved side by side, arms linked as they paced backwards and forwards in perfect unison with the line of other couples.

"I didn't know you were a Seer," she said quietly.

They returned to facing one another and he approached her. He filled that brief moment of closeness with words:

"I'm not, I'm just in love, Hermione."

They were separated for a few moments as they had to approach a different partner.

"So you and Malfoy, huh?" said Harry, bowing to Hermione as she curtsied before him.

"Don't act like you didn't already know in Hogsmeade," she joked back.

"I knew in Wiltshire, Mione."

Hermione was robbed of her opportunity to reply as the dance lead her back to her original positioning in front of Draco, where she was to separate off in the opposite direction and approach Blaise.

"You look remarkably well this evening, Miss Granger," said Blaise.

"Oh please just call me Hermione. It's been almost four months! And you're practically married to my almost sister."

"How did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That I'm going to propose to her."

Hermione felt her face fall but could not reply as her time was up once again. It wasn't unusual in the Wizarding world to get married at their age. Soon, they would be leaving Hogwarts and moving into the real world.

Luna and Blaise to be married! The thought made her almost forget the next steps to the dance as she was so ecstatically happy. She would give her a tight hug later, much to the little blonde's confusion as she had no idea what the future held for her.

But then again, Luna Lovegood knew everything.

~

The dance ended shortly after and Ginny grabbed her dorm mates and brought them over to the refreshments table, demanding that they have some girl talk.

Ginny filled her glass half full with pumpkin juice from the table and then looked around her to check the coast was clear before pulling out a tiny hip flask from her bra and pouring the contents into the cup.

After having satisfied herself with downing half the drink and leaving the rest to the Patil twins who had begged for some, she spoke:

"Right, okay, so - Mione. Hang on, where was I going with this? Right, of course. Mione. We just wanted to pull you over firstly because we're jealous and want you all to ourselves and secondly because we need to discuss a certain blondie."

"If that's what we're going to do, I think I'll need some of that fire whiskey of yours."

Ginny quickly procured some from her twin brothers who were in the process of spiking the gillywater pitchers.

"So is it official now?" asked Parvati.

"Well I don't really know-"

"Have you guys kissed?" asked Padma.

"Well about that-"

"I can't believe you didn't tell us he was going to be your date to the ball, although we should have guessed with the dress and all," Parvati continued.

"How long has it been going on?" asked Ginny.

Luna glanced over at Hermione but remained quiet.

"Interesting," Ginny remarked.

"What about you lot, huh? I had no idea about you and Oliver Wood, Parv. Congratulations, by the way!" said Hermione, adamant to change the subject.

"Oh, It was unbelievably last minute. Neither of us had partners and you know how I've always had a raging crush on him, so I decided to just take the opportunity and ask him," Parvati beamed and then turned to face the redhead. "I took a little inspiration from Ginny's bravery."

"And how's it going now?"

"Oh, he's a little awkward. He stepped on my foot at least three times but he is lovely and I am having a whirl of a time."

"Only three times? Count yourself lucky," joked Ginny whose foot was still throbbing with pain from Harry's lack of coordination.

"And how does Malfoy dance? Is he good? Did you hold his hand?" Padma asked, eyes brimming with curiosity.

"Ah, yes, tell us more about the man you safely promised never to dance with back in September," Ginny teased.

"Oh, please don't repeat what I said back then," Hermione groaned covering her face in embarrassment. "Let's just say he is a perfect natural."

"He's probably been trained since his birth," Ginny replied, meaning it jokingly but it reminded everybody of what he truly was. It was everything Hermione had wanted to avoid. There was a moment of silence before Luna spoke for the first time.

"How about we all dance the next dance together," Luna suggested.

And so they did. Of course, it was quite difficult to dance a dance meant for only two people between the five of them, so they ended up giving up with the set choreography and danced wildly, naturally and perhaps a little drunkenly.

It was perfect timing when the music changed from orchestral to rock, as the Weird Sisters appeared on stage. Ginny forcibly dragged Hermione into Hogwarts' first ever mosh pit. Were it not for the alcohol, Hermione would have surely never done such a thing. Strangely enough, she did rather enjoy it, even if she ended up getting squashed by Vincent Crabbe at one point and was constantly shoved around by Gregory Goyle.

She kept looking around - while she was getting thrown about - for a certain head of blond hair, but she knew that Draco Malfoy would not be caught dead in a mosh pit.

Hermione had by then entirely lost the four friends she had entered the mosh pit with and had no idea how one was meant to leave it.

"Mione!" she heard someone nearby exclaim. She tried to see who it was through the crowd and found it to be Theodore Nott. He stretched out his hand through the crowd of people and Hermione took it, finding herself being tugged over to him.

"Theo! Hi! Thank you!" she cried, breathing out heavily, as they continued to be pushed about.

"Didn't take you for an avid mosher, Hermit," he shouted over the music.

"Sorry what?" Hermione shouted back and leaned in to hear him more clearly.

Theo repeated himself, only louder.

"Oh, I'm not one. I got dragged in."

"Sure you're not," he said, rolling his eyes. "I just wanted to thank you - for all the stuff with Pansy."

"A mosh pit probably isn't the best place for this," she replied, letting out a scream as she was knocked off her balance. Theo quickly grabbed her before she could hit the ground.

"Let's get you out of here," he suggested and Hermione gave him a very strong nod. "Hold on tight to my hand."

She did and he ripped his way through the crowd until they found an open space. Hermione felt hot, sweaty and out of breath, and by the looks of it, Theodore Nott did too. He loosened his tie and was exhaling heavily.

"I need to sit down," she said and stumbled over to the nearest chair. "Thank you, Theo."

"Anytime, Mione."

"Well, I'm never doing that again," she exhaled as she leaned back on the chair

"Weakling."

"Sorry, but how could anybody ever enjoy that?" Hermione asked, refusing to mention the fact she had enjoyed it at first.

"You're still alive, stop complaining," Theo replied, rolling his eyes.

"It's just a health and safety hazard waiting to happen," Hermione argued.

"You're such a bloody Gryffindor."

Hermione gave him a 'seriously?' look and he chuckled lightly as he fixed his shirt cuffs.

"Is it true that Draco doesn't smoke?" she asked after a few moments of silence.

"'Draco' now is it?" He smirked. "And yeah he doesn't, why?"

Hermione ignored his question and continued.

"Was he in the mosh pit too?"

Theo looked up at Hermione and laughed.

"Are we talking of the same Draco Malfoy? You seriously think he would be caught dead in 'one of those filthy things' as he calls them? The boy likes his personal space and his pride a little too much."

"Do you know where he is right now?"

"And here I was thinking that Hermione Granger actually wanted to have a conversation with me," he said lightheartedly, not taking offence. "He's probably getting some fresh air or something."

"Brilliant, thanks Theo," she said warmly as she got up to leave.

"Yeah, fuck off already," he smirked back, slumping down onto the chair Hermione had just vacated, and watching her move away in a comical mixture of a hobble and a speed walk. "Your dress is all torn, hermit." He shouted after her.

"What?" she said in a panic, immediately inspecting her robes. "No, no, no this can't be happening."

"No need to panic, Granger. I'm sure he's seen you look much worse."

"Thank you, Theo. Always so helpful."

"They don't call me 'Thoughtful Theo' for nothing."

"You literally just made that up right now."

"Yeah and? I didn't specify the 'they'."

In that moment Pansy had just swam her way out of the mosh pit and collapsed on Theo's lap.

"Really, Pans? There are literally twenty chairs within a five metre radius of where I am sitting."

"You looked like the nicest chair," she replied with a smile.

"Only because the other chairs don't have di-"

"Granger," Pansy interrupted, shouting over to the witch who was a few metres away from them, still trying to sort out the mess of her appearance. "You look pathetic."

"It's not my fault-"

"Stop whining and come here. I'll fix you up."

Hermione dragged her feet over to Pansy and held her arms out. Pansy's wand followed along all the tears in her dress, as well as pointing quickly at her hair and face, restoring it all to its original condition.

"Thank you, Pansy."

"Yeah, fuck off already," she replied with a smile.

Those two were truly made for one another.

~

On her way out to the courtyard, Hermione faced multiple stares from people who had seen her with dancing with Malfoy. Some were purely innocent and others were far more spiteful.

The alcohol she had consumed was still somewhat affecting her. Had it not been for this, she would most certainly have not said:

"Yes, the Gryffindor mudblood is dating the Slytherin pureblood. Get over it."

Dating. They had never spoken about a thing like that, but Hermione assumed they now were officially dating? She didn't really understand how stuff like that happened. Anyways, her words most certainly worked as planned, and the pairs of evil eyes had turned away from her in shame.

She remembered the September formal - when she had gone out into the courtyard for some fresh air and walked past Draco, arm in arm with Cedric Diggory. How he had scowled at her from his position against the wall! She wondered if he had felt something for her then. Unlikely.

There he was once again, leaning against the same wall by the entrance to the Great Hall. His hands were in his pockets and he was looking up at the night sky.

"I thought it was my time to sneak up behind you."

"I suppose it's my turn to blurt out a single 'you' upon having looked you up and down."

Hermione felt herself quite comedically targeted. It wasn't her fault if he always took her words away.

"You've spent more time out here than in the hall. There's a literal mosh pit going on inside."

"That's why I left."

"Ah yes, Theo told me of your hatred for 'one of those filthy things'."

"Theo rarely shuts his mouth about things concerning me."

"Oh, stop being so self important. Let's go back inside now. Come on," she said excitedly, trying to pull one of his hands out of his pockets.

"I have a better idea," he said slowly.

"And what might that be?"

"If you could go anywhere right now, Hermione, where would you go?"

"Goodness, give me a second to think," she said with a furrowed brow as she brought her thumb to her lip, deep in thought. "The white cliffs. Not the Dover ones - the ones by Eastbourne: the Seven Sisters."

"The Seven Sisters," he murmured to himself.

"What about you? Where would you go?"

"That's not part of the game."

He'd go to those same white cliffs now that he knew that was where she would want to go.

"Excellent game, Malfoy, now let's go back inside," she said jokingly.

"Not so fast. We have places to be."

"You don't mean-"

"That's right."

"We can't apparate out of Hogwarts! Are you mad? What have you been drinking?"

"Ah, but we can."

"Someone will notice we're gone and we'll get caught," she cried.

"That's what this is for," he smirked, pulling out a golden chain from his pocket. A time turner.

"Where did you get that?" She said quickly and sternly.

"Your bedside table."

"YOU WENT INSIDE MY ROOM?"

"Calm yourself, Granger, I did no such thing."

"Then how do you have it?"

"Pansy got it for me."

"Pansy? Is that why she came to my dorm? I seriously thought she just wanted to use my mascara, and maybe become better friends."

"Oh don't cry yourself to sleep about it, you Hufflepuff. That's why she was going originally. I took it as the perfect opportunity to ask a favour of her."

"Sometimes I forget you're such a Slytherin."

He chuckled.

"Hold on to me tightly and don't let go."

She pondered for a few seconds before linking her arm through his and within a shaky instant, they found themselves on the top of one of the Seven Sisters, the winds rushing against them as Hermione struggled to hold her balance and not projectile vomit everywhere after that bumpy apparition. Draco, on the other hand, was frustratingly unaffected.

Hermione laughed as she looked around herself, quite overwhelmed by the beauty of the landscape that surrounded her. It felt as if Draco had painted it for her.

She ran towards the edge of the cliff, arms stretched out as she felt herself being transported by the winds. The sea was there before her, crashing against the wall of chalk. Hermione on top of the world.

"Oh what are men to rocks and mountains?" she whispered into the current of air that flowed past her.

Draco came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and yanking her back from the edge. She looked up at him in confusion.

"You could have fallen," he shrugged.

"Let's walk down to that beach over there," she pointed, smiling. "I want to skim some stones."

Hermione charged her way down the hill, dragging Draco down with her. They looked perfectly out of place in their opulent dress robes, but Hermione liked the funny contrast. It was a steep walk down and Draco had wanted them to apparate but Hermione would hear of no such thing.

Eventually, they reached the pebbly beach and Hermione ran over to the shore where the waves swung back and forth. She scavenged for a flat pebble and eventually settled for one that was somewhere between flat and round after an avid search.

Moving her right arm back and forth, she released the stone into the sea where it collided against the surface twice. She was satisfied ...

... Until she saw a stone skid at least seven jumps in front of her. She felt her face fall and turned around immediately to scowl at a very smug looking Draco Malfoy.

"Show off."

She bent over to find another stone that she could skim to try and beat him, again having to settle on a rather poor excuse for a flat stone.

"Here, have this one," he said, holding out a perfectly flat stone which she stared at and took, fiddling a bit with it.

She stumbled closer to the sea and extended out her arm but stopped. She slid the stone into her dress pocket.

"You're keeping it? I can find you a better stone than that," he said with a furrowed brow.

She didn't want a better stone. Just the one he had picked out for her.

Her eyes then landed on some scattered white stones that matched the pearl pallor of the mighty cliffs. She picked one up, clutched it in her fist and it crumbled in her hand.

Taking the largest chunk, she bent down to one of the boulders and scraped off the small pebbles on its surface. She inhaled deeply as she pressed the chalk stone to the boulder's smooth grey surface.

She had the freedom to write anything in the world. This would be the mark she left. 

There wasn't much space on the rock. It had to be short and meaningful. And so she wrote their names, ignoring the cliché as she scratched the chalk onto the boulder.

"What are you doing there?" he asked.

"I'm leaving a mark," she replied.

He moved over to her to read what she had written. His eyes scanned the white etchings.

"Are you writing us into this world, Hermione?"

She looked back at him and nodded.

"I sometimes think the universe somehow knew I was meant to meet you," she replied. "And I wanted to tell it that."

Draco opened his mouth to speak but a wave came and crashed against the boulder, washing away Hermione's writing, but her expression did not change.

"I can write it again," he offered. "I'll charm it to stay there forever."

"It's alright," she said, eyes fixed upon the wet surface of the boulder. It was clean and unmarked, as though Hermione had never even written on it at all. “It would have happened sooner or later."

Having had enough of stones, Hermione caught her eye on one of the wooden groynes. She charged over to it and climbed onto the top of the first wooden pillar.

"Draco, come here and hold my hand."

He sighed dramatically and made his way over. He took hold of her hand, stabilising her as she stepped onto the next pillar and then the next one, until she was too high up to still be holding his hand.

"Hermione, come down now," he said quietly, trying to hide his concern. But she looked so beautiful, so carefree up there with the wind that blew against her hair and her flushed red cheeks.

"What, scared I'll fall?" she teased, and pretended to slip, laughing as he gasped and ran to catch her. "Sometimes having Gryffindor bravery can be fun."

Draco scowled at her. "Fine try to get down without me," he hissed back.

"I know you'll catch me. You won't let me fall."

She sat down on the groyne pillar and began to lean down into his outstretched arms as rolled his eyes and gave in. He pulled her down, not showing a single sign of a struggle. She heard him catch her breath as her body brushed against his.

"I bet it's even more beautiful by day here," she said.

"No, I'm sure it's not." He couldn't imagine it being more beautiful without her.

He pulled her in by the neck and kissed her. Kissed her so hard they barely flinched when the waves crashed against their shins, drenching the lower part of their dress robes. She kissed him back with equal ardour, pulling him into herself as she stroked the back of his head. The reflection of the moon giggled in the shallow pools of water by their feet.

_There's little reflections of love wherever you look, I think, if you're willing to find them._

He pushed her up against the wall of the groyne, placing both his hands either side of her and continuing in the depths of their kisses.

"Too long, too long," he groaned as he continued to press his tongue against hers. "Too fucking long without this."

He lifted up the hem of her dress and began to feel up and down her leg, gripping onto her thigh to stabilise himself. His fingers trailed upwards, closer and closer to his sacred haven.

They were rudely disturbed by a wave that crashed against them and threw them aggressively into the water. Hermione let out a scream, not one out of fear or cowardice, but out of surprise and excitement. The water was cold. Ice cold. But it didn't seem to matter.

And then it wasn't quite so cold anymore. Draco had cast a warming charm for her. Not for himself though.

"I'm afraid those wet robes of yours are going to weigh you down, my dear," said Draco, shaking some water droplets out of his wet hair.

"Do the honours, will you?" she asked, stretching her arms out to the side. Draco grinned and waded his way over to her. He fingered the zip slowly and tortuously, letting her hold onto him as she stepped out of the wet blue robes.

He did a double take as he saw her wearing only sheer blue lace underwear that left very little to the imagination.

"Fucking hell, Hermione," he gasped through his hot and heavy breaths, immediately pulling her onto him. He stared at her, completely transfixed and speechless. He brushed the tip of his finger against the sheer lace that covered her hard nipple.

"Better than my white cotton briefs?" she asked with a smile.

"I loved those," he smiled. "But these make me feral."

"I would never have guessed you to be one for granny pants, Malfoy."

"I am one for anything you wear," he mumbled into her skin as he kissed all over her neck. "D'you know? I'm starting to think that periwinkle blue might just be my favourite colour."

"Don't tell the Slytherins that."

Hermione then removed his blazer, followed by his waistcoat until he was left only in his now practically transparent shirt that clung on tightly to his toned torso. They removed the remaining parts of his three piece suit together and Hermione decided to hang up the wet, dripping clothes on the groyne behind her while Draco rolled his eyes at her.

Draco watched as she waded over to the groyne, the water not quite covering her almost completely bare arse. He crept up behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and threw her into the water before she could finish laying out the clothes.

In the sea of a little secluded beach by the Seven Sisters, Hermione gave the phrase: 'ride the waves' a whole new meaning.

~

"Of course I didn't bring my wand," Hermione huffed as she held the damp clothes in her arms. "This charm is starting to wear off and I'm quite certain we shall die of hypothermia."

"Quite unlike you, Miss Granger, to come so underprepared," Draco teased as he pulled out his own wand and within an instant the clothes, and their own bodies, were perfectly dry.

"Well excuse me if I wasn't aware of the fact we would be swimming in the English Channel on Christmas Eve," she replied back with squinting eyes as she slipped her dress back on. "And not to mention in the middle of the night."

"We didn't really do much swimming though, did we?" He grinned back.

"Merlin, do you ever think of anything else?" she cried.

"No, not really."

"You need to get your head out of the gutter."

"I'm quite alright with keeping my head in your gutter."

"Go fuck yourself," she tried, feeling quite smug with herself. That should stop him.

"You already did."

"Merlin, I hate you."

"Maybe if you stopped flirting with me, you'd hate me less."

"I am not flirting with you!"

"Flirt."

"Scoundrel."

"Tease."

"Scrote."

"Still thinking about my balls, are we?"

"I swear to bloody Merlin I will find a way to kill you in your sleep, Malfoy."

"And what? Kill me in my bed? How awfully romantic, Granger."

"You could go on for days, couldn't you?"

"I am not famous for my stamina for nothing."

"That's it, I'm done."

"And for how quickly I finish girls off-"

"I swear I could scream right now."

"Like you were screaming my name?"

"Alright, alright, you win. Ten points to bloody Slytherin," she spat, quite visibly frustrated. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic."

She scowled back at him, eyes squinting hard.

"We should get back soon."

"You want to leave already?" he pouted.

_Why, Hermione? We have a time tuner. You and I have all the time in the world. We're the richest people alive._

"Yes, you're annoying," she replied, her face still red and furious.

"If you stay and watch the sunrise with me, I promise I won't be so annoying."

"The sunrise? That long? We'll freeze to death. Your warming charm is good, Draco, but I can't imagine it being _that_ good."

"The sun rises in an hour," he replied nonchalantly.

"Only one hour? That much time has passed?" she cried, covering her open mouth with her hand.

Draco had been very tempted to say: _Do you really underestimate my stamina that much?_ but he knew he would probably get stoned to death by an angry brunette, so instead he said:

"It's Christmas Day, Hermione," he said, pulling the angry little dwarf into him and wrapping his arms around her. She snuggled into him, pressing her cheek against his breast. He planted a kiss on the top of her forehead. "I've never actually enjoyed Christmas Day before."

"What? Christmas Day is quite literally the best day in the world!" she cried, adamant to defend her favourite holiday.

_You're right. You always are. You change the way I see the world._

"Merry Christmas, Hermione."

"Merry Christmas, Draco," she replied.

Before long, they were snuggling on some conjured blankets and pillows before a crackling fire, looking out at the horizon. He had done such a good job that Hermione couldn't feel a single pebble beneath her.

"Not bad for a _first_ date, don't you think?"

A date? The words made Hermione feel warmer than the fire before them.

"A first date, as in there will be others like this?"

"No, they'll be better than this."

"I don't believe that's possible."

"Oh, I'll prove you wrong, Mione."

Mione.

It was more than a promise; it was a vow.

A few more moments passed before the sun began to poke the tip of its forehead through the horizon's birth canal and its warm rays flooded the sky's chilly blue.

They held on to one another tightly, as the sun spilled its warmth onto their interwoven bodies. And maybe, just maybe, they might reach out to touch it. To stroke the top of the sun’s skin, as if they could do nothing else. To hold the horizon in their hands. Hold it forever.

~

_D.M._   
_19/09/2010_


	36. Epilogue

There comes a time when we are expected to confess our shortcomings. After having delayed this as much as possible, I come to a point where it cannot wait any longer.

You don't have to read on if you don't want to. It's okay, really. I lie to myself too. It's comforting. Please, be my guest. A lot of people tend to skip epilogues. You won't be alone.

What you've read so far - it's what should have happened, anyway. Not what actually did happen, of course.

Are you shocked? But, reader, I left you clues all the way along!

Not many, of course, I had to make sure it was just about believable enough to lull you into a nice and comforting false sense of security. If you couldn't tell, I am about as Slytherin as it gets.

And because of that, I think you'll find that this story is written entirely out of cowardice. It's me annotating the past, making it the way it should have always been. Do you remember me saying that to her, reader?

Well I didn't of course.

Because the truth is, I never met Hermione Granger in Wiltshire. I never danced with her. I never told her that I loved her. I never kissed her. I never touched her.

There are some pieces here and there that are true; I couldn't make it all a silly cartoon. It had to resemble real life, even if it couldn't replicate it.

That's also why I couldn't make their relationship perfect, you see. It had to be somewhat realistic. I had to give the smooth skin of my fantasy some pores.

Let me make it quite explicitly clear: Hermione and Draco did not end up together because miracles are entirely fictional. Happiness is fictional.

Screw 'didn't end up together' - they didn't have anything at all. I could have been satisfied with her running off and marrying the Weasel as long as she and I had had our chance. As long as we had had _something_. 

But, reader, how can a person say goodbye to someone they have never even said hello to? How is one even to imagine it?

I didn't go too far. I didn't write them a future or anything. Just a short period in their lives. Just a quick snapshot in time. Just that they had something.

I'm telling you, I know it, I just know that we could have been everything. Maybe we were everything. Oh shut up, Draco, who the fuck are you fooling anymore?

Love doesn't exist for me outside of stories. Outside the shield of my quill and parchment, I am all alone. So lonely.

What else should I tell you, reader?

That you ought to feel ashamed of yourselves for having been so notoriously gulled by a couple thousand words? No, I won't blame you for something I set out to do to you from the start. Perhaps, I have relished in the prospect of destroying you as much as I have in destroying myself.

But did you really not know? At times, I found myself laughing at how obvious it all was. I spelt it out for you in big, embossed letters on a leather-bound pad of parchment.

Come on, reader, I even told you that you'd be surprised at how easy it is to lose something that had always been there.

I even threw in the deception card and the reversed lovers card in Divination, for fuck's sake.

I even said that I would write her a whole book convincing her that she existed for me. _Surely_ you knew then?

Have I made you feel stupid, angry, sad? Join the club, my friend.

There's plenty more I could point out to you, but I won't torture you further. You can go back and find them, if you please. Or you can forget this epilogue even exists. Your choice. I won't judge you.

What else ought I tell you? What else are you entitled to know?

How I attended her wedding under Polyjuice potion and watched her marry and confess her love for someone else? I am sure you were wondering when the title of the story would start to manifest itself.

My life without her has been a mixture of pride and Polyjuice potion. Pride: the hero's fatal flaw. My hamartia. Polyjuice potion: my new opium.

I had her as my heroine in my fairytale. In real life, her image became the heroin I injected into my mind. A bullet to the head.

Out of all the drugs I've taken, I am most addicted to seeing her smile. She only smiles because she cannot see me there, of course. If she could, I wonder what she would look like. What she would say. What she would think. Would she think I was beautiful, like I wrote?

After all these fucking drugs, I find it hard to believe.

Pathetic, isn't it? I give you full leave to laugh at me to your heart's content. It's nobody's fault but my own, anyway.

I was blind, partial, prejudiced, absurd and I let her slip through my fingers.

Enough self pity - you don't give a shit about that. Allow me to laugh at you instead.

To outline, I read _Pride and Prejudice_ a long time ago because it was her favourite muggle book. I checked it out of the muggle section of the library right after her. Stole it is probably more appropriate. Young, naive Draco would never have let anybody know he was reading a muggle book. And so I read it late at night, under the covers with only the light of my lumos.

When I made our story like Elizabeth and Darcy's, that should have already been a red flag to you, reader. It should have been clear from that instant.

Elizabeth and Darcy are Jane Austen's semi-autobiographical fantasy. _Pride and Prejudice_ is the alternative ending to Austen's life: the one in which she ended up with Tom Lefroy, her Mr Darcy, despite all the forces tearing them apart.

At least Jane and Tom were something at one point. At least her happy memories of him weren't all a fantasy.

Speaking of which, I might proudly inform you that I have managed to cast a patronus. Not a full corporeal one - that would be quixotic. Writing down my fairytale has blurred fantasy and reality into one indistinguishable unity, and so the memory that I used to cast my patronus was one I had fabricated. I believe I outdo you all. I win the award for the person who has fooled themselves the most.

I have successfully gulled myself to the point of having a lie as my happiest memory. Ten points to Slytherin. 

I have drafted and redrafted these final words time and time again, and still I cannot seem to get it quite right. I keep editing, fixing, and changing everything so much that I can hardly remember the original. You won't see that one of course - the raw one. I present to you a fabrication.

My head is so fucked right now. What did I want to say to you?

That she was tortured in my own home by my own aunt as I stood still and watched? Yes, reader, that was her only experience of Malfoy Manor. A Cruciatus curse in the place of a dinner, piano playing, and a kiss.

Which would you rather have?

If you could hook yourself up to a simulator and live your perfect life, would you do it? Even if that meant you no longer lived in the real world, or existed at all? But you wouldn't know any different of course. It wouldn't matter at all.

I think we would all like to pretend we wouldn't. But fucking hell would I step through that mirror of Erised if I could. I'd do it an instant. No second thought. I don't give a shit if they don't really exist on that other side.

There's little reflections of love wherever you look, I think, if you're willing to find them. But they're only reflections, of course. Inauthentic.

I've got a checklist here with me to make sure I write down everything I wanted to say. There's one bullet point I've been avoiding for quite some time.

Reader, they took Theo from me.

When I heard him shriek out in pain, when I watched him fall down on those concrete stairs, when I watched all the life be drained out of him, I swear every colour left the world with him.

In one of these drafts, I wrote that he said something to me. They were some great, inspirational, heart wrenching words and they would have been pretty for me to tell you. But he didn't do anything of the sort. He died without saying anything to me.

You'd think a Malfoy tear would be like a phoenix’s with how little they are shed. I tested it out on him. They are nothing like phoenix tears.

I suppose I revived him too in writing this. Maybe my words became like phoenix tears. 

You know what I wish? I wish, I just wish that there was one person in my life that I was allowed to keep. That's all I ask: one person that wouldn't fall out of my hands. Just one person in my life that I wasn't destined to lose forever.

Even if the papers say I deserve it.

Maybe I did deserve it. But you, Theo, why did they do it to you?

They tore the strings out of the instrument and now they wonder why they only music left in the world is the incessant ringing of the death knells.

And the howls of the thestrals.

If you're still reading this at this point then you deserve no apology from me. I may have ruined your day but you enjoy my sadism. It has seduced you.

Who knew that the truth could be such a weapon of torture?

Bullet point done. Onto the next.

Isn't the tragedy of the human condition such a funny thing?

The tragedy of the human condition is me not holding on until it was too late and she was no longer within arm's reach. If I'd understood that, if I'd properly made sense of it back then, well who knows? Maybe I would have reached out and held her hand for a second. Even if it was only for a second.

That reminds me of another thing I wrote:

_And that's what we humans do: we make up for things, we apologise, we change our behaviour all when it is too late. We push the extent of our negative actions to the brink and it is only when we are falling over the edge that we think how much we might like to go back and fix everything. But it's too late. It cannot be fixed._

Remember her saying that, reader? Oh, but I did go back and fix everything! I did! I stuck a nice big plaster over that fat wound I'd cast and called it a day.

Coward.

But it's all I can do now. I have no other power. As an author of fiction, I both create words and find myself imprisoned by them. 

She once asked me what my greatest fear was, in the story. I didn't answer it then, but isn't it obvious? Take a wild guest, my reader, now that we know each other so well. I'm sure you'll get it right.

Can I ask you something, reader? Do you think I ever cross her mind? I don't mean all the time, just every now and then. Do you think it's possible? That she might even ask herself what could have happened if things had gone differently?

Has she ever dreamt about me the way I dream about her? Do we live together in a dream world? Do we visit each other there?

Do you think she recognises me when I am in Polyjuice potion? Do you think that's why she smiles?

But enough now, I'm getting carried away. I must sleep.

This is my final act of selfishness, Hermione. By imagining how it could have been if I had let myself love you.

Draco Malfoy

~

W, H. in continuation:  
05/11/2020

Her ringed finger placed the letter down on his grave by the crossroads.

Now turn those initials upside down.


	37. Explanation

(TW: mentions suicide)

Please only read this if you were confused by the ending and really had no idea what was going on. It was deliberately ambiguous and confusing and at first I wanted to keep it that way, but I am sure a lot of people would appreciate knowing what it all meant a lot more.

If you interpreted the epilogue in a completely different way, please let me know because there are multiple ways to read it, and not just how I wrote it.

This, however, is my interpretation:

The epilogue is Draco confessing that he has made up this whole story as a fantasy, wondering what it could have been like if he hadn't been such a coward and had let himself fall in love with Hermione. The initials and the date (Hermione's birthday) at the bottom of chapter 35 tell us that Draco is writing twelve years after the Battle of Hogwarts.

The story is mostly through Hermione's point of view because his biggest fantasy is knowing how _she_ felt about him, knowing that _she_ loved him. That's all he has ever wanted.

And so now, in 2010, he has written it all down before he kills himself as his 'final act of selfishness'. In writing it all down, he feels as though he has given himself and Hermione something: happiness or hope, maybe. Ambiguous somethings have always been present in their eyes throughout the story. His words being like 'unicorn tears' suggest that he feels as though he has also somewhat succeeded in reviving Theo, who died at the Battle of Hogwarts.

After having redrafted the story and epilogue multiple times, he has now accomplished all he's set out to do, he has no further reason for living. 'He must sleep'. The redrafting symbolises how he has tried relentlessly to rewrite the past.

Ten years later (in 2020), Hermione reads the manuscript and the epilogue. Through reading his words and the story he has concocted, Draco's true feelings are revealed to her. Draco may have always intended Hermione to read it, looking particularly at the last line he writes which is explicitly directed towards her. But we can't know if this is true.

She decides to add on a post-script, and writes in continuation as Weasley, Hermione. She is letting the Draco that lies at the bottom of the grave before her know that she has read it and wants to play into the fantasy too.

People who have killed themselves are often traditionally buried at crossroads. In the past, suicide was viewed as a sinful crime that sent the soul to hell. The crossroads were intended to confuse the ghost of the victim, so that they would not spend an eternity of damnation. It was an old English tradition that is now much out-dated, but perhaps not for prestigious pureblood families like the Malfoys.

The ring on Hermione's finger could be her wedding ring, or it could be the ring that Fred and George gave her on her birthday. We may also question whether Fred and George unknowingly gave Hermione Marvolo Gaunt's ring with the resurrection stone in it. The ring's true nature is open to interpretation and deliberately ambiguous.

However, when Hermione writes 'now turn those initials upside down', it suggests that she also shares Draco's feelings, because the initials now become Hermione Malfoy. She is writing herself down into Draco's fantasy as his wife, continuing his fairytale and almost allowing it to come true.

If the ring is Fred and George's or Marvolo Gaunt's, then we are left wondering if twenty-two years later, the two of them might be reunited momentarily. Whether they'll get that moment that Draco spent his whole life trying to achieve.


	38. Character List

Hermione Granger as Elizabeth Bennet  
Draco Malfoy as Fitzwilliam Darcy  
Luna Lovegood as Jane Bennet  
Blaine Zabini as Charles Bingley  
Parvati Patil as Lydia Bennet  
Padma Patil as Catherine (Kitty) Bennet  
Pansy Parkinson as Caroline Bingley  
Theodore Nott as Colonel Fitzwilliam  
Ginny Weasley as Charlotte Lucas *  
Lavender Brown as Charlotte Lucas **  
Ron Weasley as William Collins  
Lucius Malfoy as Lady Catherine de Bourgh  
Viktor Krum as George Wickham  
Fleur Delacour as Mary King

Additional characters:  
Harry Potter  
Cedric Diggory  
Nymphadora Tonks ***  
Remus Lupin  
Dobby  
Seamous Finnigan  
Fred Weasley  
George Weasley  
Narcissa Malfoy  
Professor Albus Dumbledore  
Professor Minerva McGonagall  
Professor Severus Snape  
Professor Sybill Trelawney  
Oliver Wood  
Neville Longbottom  
Dean Thomas  
Vincent Crabbe  
Gregory Goyle  
Igor Karkaroff  
Hagrid  
Madam Pomfrey

* as Elizabeth's friend, not who marries Mr Collins  
** as who marries Mr Collins, not Elizabeth's friend  
*** loosely inspired by Georgiana Darcy

**Author's Note:**

> Author’s Note:
> 
> After almost three months of work, ‘Pride and Polyjuice Potion’ has come to an end. I really hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have loved writing it. 
> 
> Believe it or not, one of the very first parts that I wrote of this book was indeed the epilogue, so I had that whole idea in mind when writing the rest of the story. I have been dropping subtle hints ever since the epigraph! 
> 
> The version that you see is not the one that I originally wrote, as I drafted and redrafted it over the course of these three months (just like Draco) trying to make it absolutely perfect, although the idea and purpose has been the same throughout.
> 
> With the regards to the ending, it has definitely been the part I have been most nervous about publishing. It's the sort of ending that I feel only I would like, and I am very conscious of the fact that some people may outright despise it.
> 
> Sometimes, I even questioned whether I should publish it because I feared that people would hate it so much. Of course, I never properly considered this, as all my writing stems from this ending and it wouldn't have been right to exclude it. 
> 
> As you may already know, Jane Austen referred to her Emma as 'a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.' Contrary to Austen's belief, Emma ended up being adored by almost all her readers. It is unlikely that my ending will receive this same reaction, but I am praying that it proves a little more popular than I anticipate it to be. 
> 
> Perhaps Draco and I are both equally cowards.
> 
> Unlike Draco, however, I don't have a bullet point list with me right now and I am scratching my head for what it is I intended to include in this note.
> 
> Something that is of little importance but I feel I should make evident nonetheless, is the fact that this is the first proper fan fiction I have ever written. Nothing to add to that, just thought I should make that clear.
> 
> I don't ask for you to like or hate this book, I just hope that it made you think a little.
> 
> Thank you so much to everyone who has been following me, voting and commenting. It really makes my day to see that people enjoy what I have written. 
> 
> All the best,  
> skjcartwork


End file.
